Just a Game
by Nixxx852
Summary: He was supposed to get Kurt to fall in love with him, then in a few months time he could break up with him and collect his winnings. It was just a game and nothing more. So, why did he suddenly find himself starting to fall for the other boy?
1. Chapter 1

Warning: Slash. If you're not into that kind of thing then I suggest you leave now.

Disclaimer: I don't own Glee. If I did then things would have happened so differently.

Note: Kurt never spied on the Warblers.

"Guess what's going around the rumor mill," Wes said as he took his seat next to his two best friends, Blaine and David.-

"Mr. Gibbons was coughing violating a student in the lecture hall?" Blaine suggested in a monotone voice. He was never one for rumors. You would think that at an all boys' school, there wouldn't be too many. But apparently, boys gossiped just as much as girls did.

Wes made a disgusted face at the image that brought up in his mind before shaking his head. "We're getting a new student."

"But it's the middle of the term," David looked up from his food. "We never get transfers in the middle of the term."

"Apparently this is a special case," Wes shrugged and picked up his fork to start poking at his food. "They made an exception for this kid and no one knows why."

"Do they know who it is?" Blaine asked, mildly interested.

"Nope, but some people say he's from Lima."

"Lima? That little town a couple of hours from here?" David looked thoughtful. "I didn't think anyone there would have the kind of money to get into Dalton."

"When's he coming?" Blaine popped open his soda and took a sip.

"Monday," Wes answered. "He's a junior if I'm not mistaken."

Blaine and David made noises of acknowledgement and went back to their lunches. Now that this topic was over, the three boys talked about an upcoming history test they all had.

"I'm going to miss you so much, Kurt," Mercedes pulled Kurt into a tight hug and fought the tears that were threatening to spill from her eyes. When Kurt pulled away and she could see that her best friend's eyes were glassed over with tears.

"I'm going to miss you, too," Kurt said softy. He looked behind her to see the rest of his friends looking at him with sad expressions. He was touched that they had all gathered at his house to see him off, even if it was early in the morning. "I'm going to miss all of you. But, I'll see you guys whenever I come home on the weekends and on breaks. And besides, Westerville is only two hours away."

Kurt walked over to the others and was immediately pulled into a hug by Quinn and Tina. Kurt hugged them both back as he felt his eyes sting with tears. He was really going to miss them. After he let go of the two girls, Brittany came over to hug him. He saw how sad she looked and hugged her tightly. He looked over the blonde's shoulder to see Santana giving him a sad look as well. He had never been close with Santana, but seeing how upset she was over him leaving showed him how much she really did care about him. He and Santana exchanged sad smiles.

"Yeah, it is only two hours away," Rachel stepped forward and pulled Kurt into a hug. It was slightly awkward since Kurt spent the better part of a year hating her, but he soon relaxed into it and hugged her just as tight. Rachel _was_ one of the first people to notice how upset he was and he was grateful for that. "So just give us a call if you need anything, and we'll be right there."

"Rachel's right," Finn, Kurt's new step-brother, stepped forward to hug him next. "Just call and we'll be there as soon as possible."

"We've got your back," Artie held his fist out and after staring at it for a few seconds, Kurt bumped his fist to it.

"You tell us the minute any of those prep school boys give you a hard time. It'll only take an hour if I'm behind the wheel," Puck patted him on the back and Mike nodded in agreement.

"I don't think you'll have to worry about that," Sam spoke up from where he was standing beside Quinn. "All the guys there are really nice. And they really do enforce the no bullying policy."

Sam, who went to Dalton Academy last year, was the one who told Kurt about the school. He did some research on it and the zero-tolerance no bullying policy was one of the deciding factors for Kurt. He dreaded the idea of having to wear the same thing as everyone else every day, but it was a small price to pay for being able to walk down the halls without having to worry about someone throwing a slushie at him or slamming him into some lockers.

"Glee club won't be the same without you, Kurt," Kurt looked up at the last person in the group. He was actually shocked to see Mr. Shuester there to see him off.

"Yeah, now no one will be there to fight Rachel for solos," Mercedes joked. This got a small laugh out of everyone.

"Are you going to join the Warblers?" Rachel asked suddenly.

"I…I don't know," Kurt answered hesitantly. "I thought about it, but I feel like I'll be betraying you guys."

"You should!" Tina spoke up. "You love singing. It wouldn't be right if you gave it up for us. Who cares if they're our competition at sectionals." Tina turned to glare at Rachel, who made a face and looked like she wanted to say something.

"I'll think about it," Kurt said with a shrug.

"Kurt," Burt Hummel walked up to his son. He finished putting his things into the car. "We should get going now before the traffic gets too bad. You have to meet with the headmaster to finalize everything."

"Alright, dad," Kurt said in a small voice. He turned to face his friends. He wanted to come up with something to say to them, inspirational last words if you will, but his mind was blank. As one, the eleven teenagers walked up to him and pulled him into a group hug. The tears that had been in his eyes since his friends showed up twenty minutes ago finally fell from his eyes and down his cheeks. He really was going to miss all of them.

Will Shuester looked at the group of kids with a small smile on his face. He could remember just a little over a year ago when they didn't get along. He could still remember all the fights they got into during their glee club practices. And now, here they all were, hugging Kurt goodbye. All the girls had tears falling down their faces just like Kurt. He even saw the boys' eyes shining with unshed tears as, one by one, they all pulled away from the group hug. Will's eyes widened in surprise when Kurt came up to him and gave him a quick hug goodbye.

"Thanks for everything, Mr. Shue," Kurt said through his tears. Will could only nod and return the albeit awkward hug.

"Goodbye, guys," Kurt wiped the tears away from his face and walked over to his car, where his step-parents were waiting, so they could give the teenagers a bit of privacy.

"Call as soon as you're settled in," Finn called out. He had wanted to go with them, but he had to get to school.

"I will," Kurt gave them all one last wave goodbye before getting into the car. New Directions stayed standing outside the Hudson-Hummel household, waving goodbye, until they could no longer see the car.

"Is the new kid here yet?" David asked as he walked to lunch with Blaine and Wes.

"I think so," Wes answered. "Nick said he saw some people walk into the office. I haven't heard anyone mention anything about a new kid in their classes or anything though.

"They probably gave him the morning to get settled in," Blaine pushed open the door to the Dining Hall and they went to get their food. "I remember when I first got here they gave me the morning to unpack. He'll probably show up soon."

The three boys went to their regular table and started on their lunches. About ten minutes into their lunch, the loud chatter around them quieted down and was replaced by hushed whispers. Blaine looked up and saw Wes looking intently at something behind him.

"I'm guessing that's the new kid," Wes said calmly.

Blaine, whose back was to the door, turned in his seat to see what everyone was looking at. A new person had just walked into the room. Blaine looked the new guy over. He had a very slight figure and very pale, almost flawless looking skin. He ran a hand through his perfectly combed brown hair and looked around the room. Blaine could instantly tell he was new because of the way his blue—or at least Blaine thought they were blue—eyes nervously scanned the room. Blaine had to admit that he looked quite attractive.

Kurt glanced around the room filled with boys in navy blue blazers. He could feel them all staring at him and knew that the whispered conversations were most likely about him. He bit the inside of his cheek and did his best to keep his face calm, even though he was shaking on the inside. When he was at McKinley, no one bothered to give him a second glance—heck, even the jocks that shoved him into lockers barely spared him a passing glance. Seeing all these boys looking at him was slightly unnerving.

But, he kept his head held high and went over to get something to eat. He handed the person behind the counter his meal plan card and quickly scanned the room for a place to sit. He found an empty table in the corner of the room and briskly walked over there and took a seat. He then proceeded to eat his salad, pointedly ignoring all whispering and the stares he was receiving. If there was one thing about McKinley that he was grateful for, it was that it taught him how to sit there and look calm while ignoring all the looks he was getting.

"He plays for your team, Blaine," David observed as he watched the new boy poke at his salad.

"What makes you so sure he's gay?" Blaine asked with a raised eyebrow. He had that thought, too, but he wanted to know why David thought that as well.

"You can just tell by looking at him," Wes answered for David. "There's something…feminine about the way he looks. And, if that isn't enough, just look at the way he walks and how he's sitting. No straight guy crosses his legs like that."

Blaine rolled his eyes but had to agree with the Asian's reasoning. "He's…cute, I guess."

"Cute, eh?" David smirked at his friend.

"Don't get any ideas," Blaine gave him a pointed look. "He doesn't look like my type."

"When was the last time you went out on a date?" Wes asked Blaine.

"A couple months ago?" Blaine shrugged. "I don't know. I don't really keep track."

"Months?" David mock gasped. "What happened to that Anderson charm you're so proud of? If I remember correctly, you once said you were able to make straight guys question their sexuality."

"I still have it," Blaine said defensively. "I just haven't found anyone who catches my eye recently."

"You sure about that?" Wes mocked.

"Of course," Blaine answered without hesitation. "I could get any guy I wanted. I could even get a few guys to question themselves. I've done it before."

"You willing to bet on that?" David challenged.

"What are you hinting at?" Blaine asked, his interest peaked; he was never one to turn down a bet.

"The new kid," Wes nodded in the direction of the table with its lone occupant. "Let's see you try to get him to fall for you."

"That sounds too easy," Blaine said confidently. There was no doubting the new student's sexuality. Blaine was willing to bet everything he had that he was gay; there was just no way he could be straight.

"How about this then," David pushed his empty tray away from him and turned to Blaine. "You get him to go out with you, admit he loves you, and be his boyfriend for say…three months?"

"Three months? What's in it for me?"

"Five hundred," Wes said after some thought. "From both me and David."

Blaine took some time to think about his friends' proposition. Blaine had dated a bunch of guys before and had even had a few boyfriends before; none of them ever lasted more than a month and Blaine _never_ said he loved any of them. He wasn't even too sure he believed in love to be honest.

"I'll do it," Blaine said after some thought. Three months seemed like a long time to spend with one person—Blaine tended to get bored of his past boyfriends very easily—but a thousand was a reasonable amount of cash, he could probably use it to buy himself a new guitar or something. And, at least it will give him something to do. He glanced over to the new student sitting by himself and started planning how he was going to get him to fall in love with him.

_This is an idea that just popped into my head and wouldn't go away. It was originally going to be the story that replaced No Strings Attached when it ended (for any of you who follow it, yes, its almost over) but I've found myself engrossed in the greatness that is Klaine ever since I saw that Darren Criss was in Glee. So, I decided to give it a shot._

_This is my first Klaine story, and my first glee story for that matter. It was just something I wanted to try out. So, review and tell me what you think and if I should continue it or not. If I get a positive enough response, then I'll be happy to continue this. I hope I didn't do __**too**__ bad with this :S _


	2. Chapter 2

_Wow, I can honestly say I'm surprised by the reaction my first chapter got. I woke up to so many emails about alerts and reviews (I kind of hoped there'd be more reviews than alerts, what author doesn't? Haha). I'm glad you guys like it, though! Thanks __**soooooo**__ much for the alerts/reviews. _

After a rather awkward lunch alone, Kurt left the dining hall and went back to his dorm room. He had been given the day off to get settled in and figure his way around school. He had worked out a schedule that was similar to the one he had at McKinley and had met with each of his teachers and was given work to help him catch up.

He walked into the empty room and sat on his bed. He had finished unpacking before he went down for lunch so he really had nothing else to do. He looked over at the other bed in the room and wondered what kind of person his roommate was. His roommate had left for class when Kurt arrived so he still hadn't met the other boy. He saw a picture on the other desk in the room of a rather nice looking blonde (his roommate, Kurt assumed) and a pretty brunette (his girlfriend, most likely). Kurt sighed and walked over to the desk on his side of the room and figured that he might as well get started on the make-up work his teachers gave him.

He sent a quick text to each of the members of New Directions telling them that he settled in and was doing alright and set to work. Kurt worked for three hours straight. He had never had to work so hard at school before. The standards at Dalton were so different from McKinley, but, Kurt liked it. Back at McKinley, he spent a lot of class time sitting in the back and day dreaming or doodling in his notebook. From the looks of his make-up work, he'd have to actually work to get a decent grade in this school and Kurt couldn't wait for the challenge.

He looked over at the clock and realized that classes should be over for the day. He closed his textbook and put his things away before leaving the room. At least now, he could walk around the room and get a feel of the place without feeling weird that he was the only on walking the halls while everyone was in class. He saw a bunch of guys in uniform bustling around, but they all seemed to be going in the same direction and talking excitedly about something. 'What's going on?' Kurt wondered as he slowly walked down some stairs.

"Excuse me," Kurt stopped someone who walked past him on the stairs. The boy he stopped was a little shorter than Kurt and had immaculately gelled back hair and a nice smile. Kurt couldn't help but think that he looked really cute. "Um, hi, can I ask you a question? I'm new here."

Blaine looked up at the person who stopped him and saw the new kid he was supposed to get to fall for him. He couldn't believe his luck. He smiled his most charming smile and stuck out his arm. "My name is Blaine."

"Kurt," The new boy responded, shaking his hand. "So what exactly is going on?"

"The Warblers!" Blaine responded enthusiastically. "Every now and then they throw an impromptu performance in the senior commons. Tends to shut the school down for a while."

"So, wait, the glee club here is kind of cool?" Kurt asked with disbelief apparent in his eyes.

"The Warblers are like rock stars," Blaine explained. From the looks of it, glee club wasn't a big thing at Kurt's old school. Feeling a little daring, and deciding that now was as good a time as any to get started on that bet, Blaine reached forward and grabbed Kurt's hand. "Come on, I know a short cut."

"I stick out like a sore thumb," Kurt said forlornly once they reached the senior commons. Since he hadn't started classes, he didn't feel the need to wear his uniform just yet.

"Next time don't forget your jacket, new kid," Blaine smiled and reached over and adjusted Kurt's collar. "You'll fit right in."

He saw the rest of the Warblers start to assemble and begin their parts. He gave Kurt one last smile and handed his bag to someone to put away. "Now, if you'll excuse me."

Kurt's eyes widened as Blaine walked forward and began singing. He recognized the song as Katy Perry's Teenage Dream and had to admit that Blaine had a really nice voice. His jaw dropped slightly when he saw Blaine looking right at him. 'Was he singing that song, to him?' It seemed like it. Though Blaine looked around the room a few times, he spent most of his time looking over at Kurt. He even pointed at Kurt during the chorus.

'Oh my Gaga he's singing to me,' Kurt thought excitedly. But, he pushed those thoughts aside. There was no way Blaine was singing to him. He was probably straight. To keep his mind off those thoughts, he looked around the room. Everyone in the room was really into the song and dancing around and cheering for the Warblers. It seems like Blaine wasn't exaggerating when he said that the Warblers were like rock stars here.

Kurt thought back to McKinley and what would have happened if New Directions had an impromptu performance in front of everyone. He thought back to when they sang Empire State of Mind in the court yard. They were ignored. That was upsetting, but he supposed it was better than having slushies thrown at them. Things were so different here at Dalton. The song ended and Kurt applauded along with everyone in the room. The Warblers were all exchanging high fives with each other and a few other guys in the room. He caught Blaine's eye and practically melted at the smile the other boy gave him.

Blaine looked over at where Kurt was and couldn't help but smile at the excited look on his face. He made sure to look right at Kurt when he sang. He saw the blush and flattered look on the pale boy's face and knew that Kurt was impressed. He smirked slightly; this bet was going to be a lot easier than he thought. He saw Wes and David giving him questioning looks and his smirk only widened.

After exchanging a few words with some of the guys in the room, Blaine grabbed his bag and left with Wes and David. They all went to Wes and Blaine's room. Blaine dropped his bag beside his bed and plopped down onto his bed. Wes dropped down onto his bed and David sat on the chairs at the desk.

"You were so having eye-sex with him," was the first thing that came out of Wes's mouth. Blaine snorted at his friend's bluntness.

"He seemed really into you," David commented.

"This is going to be so easy," Blaine said with confidence. "You guys might as well just pay me now."

"I wouldn't be so sure just yet," Wes sat up and looked at Blaine. "He may have been…smitten by your singing, but I think it's going to take some work to get him to fall in love with you."

"If his reaction to me singing a song to him was any sign, then I'll have him professing his undying love for me soon enough," Blaine responded while Wes and David just rolled their eyes at him.

Kurt left shortly after the performance. Everyone had broken up into their groups and he felt left out. He was hoping Blaine would come back and talk to him, but Kurt saw him walk off with two other guys. He wandered the halls, trying to get used to the place. It was so different from the crowded halls of McKinley filled with jocks throwing balls around and papers scattered everywhere. The halls of Dalton were wider and definitely much cleaner. It also had large windows that looked out over the school's courtyard. He's never been in a place quite so luxurious before. Kurt spent the next couple of hours wandering around the place. After getting lost a couple of times, he finally found himself back at his dorm room.

"Oh, hello," The first thing Kurt noticed when he pushed the door open was that another person was in the room. The blonde that Kurt had seen in the pictures stood up from where he had been lying down on his bed. He had shed his blazer and his blue and red striped tie hung loosely around his neck.

"You must be my new roommate," The blonde smiled and offered his hand to Kurt. "I'm Trent."

"My name's Kurt," This was another thing that made Dalton different from McKinley. Everyone seemed more formal here, more civilized. Kurt smiled. He could get used to the people here.

"So how are you holding up so far?" Trent went back and sat on his bed. Kurt moved to sit on his.

"It's so different," Kurt admitted. "I already have so much work to catch up on. And there's no way I'll be able to get to my classes on time tomorrow. I got lost like five times earlier."

"Yeah," Trent's green eyes lit up with laughter. "The place is pretty huge. But after a while, you get used to it, I guess. It's my first year here, too. I've been here a few months already and I still get a little lost a few times. But, if you ever need help, feel free to ask."

"Thanks," Kurt smiled gratefully at the other boy. He was glad that he had a roommate he seemed to get along with. "How do you like it so far?"

"It's great. I went to another private school before this so it's not too different. But I'm guessing it's a huge change for you? You came from public school, right?"

"I did. And from what I've seen so far, it's already so different. I'll have a lot to get used to."

"Well, dinner's about to start," Trent announced when he saw the clock. "Want to go down together? I can introduce you to some of the other guys on this floor."

"That'll be great," Kurt smiled appreciatively. If everyone at this school was as nice as Trent, then he'd probably find himself enjoying it here; Even if he had to wear the same thing as everyone else all the time.

Kurt walked down the crowded hall, his schedule in one hand and a map of the school in the other. Finding his first few classes were easy enough. He had first period with Trent, and a guy he met in his first period, Nate, was in his second period so he just followed them to the classrooms. But, he and Nate had walked in opposite directions after second period and now Kurt had no idea where he was supposed to go.

He looked down at the map again and tried to make sense out of it. Kurt let out a sigh of frustration. He was horrible with maps. He couldn't even tell if he was holding it up the right way. He looked down at his watch. He had about two minutes to get to class and he had no idea if he was in the right hall or floor or building for that matter. 'What a great first day this is turning out to be,' Kurt thought. The hall was emptying quickly as boys entered their designated classrooms.

"Need help?" a voice asked from behind Kurt. Kurt spun on his heel and saw a smiling Blaine standing behind him. There were two other boys that Kurt recognized from the Warblers' performance standing behind him.

"Yes," Kurt said with relief in his voice. "I can't seem to find Mademoiselle Moseley's class."

Blaine's eyebrows shot up with surprise. "That's our next class," he pointed to the two boys behind him. "It's just down the hall. We better hurry before we're late."

"Mademoiselle Moseley teaches AP French," The Asian looking boy behind Blaine stated, looking at Kurt with a raised eyebrow as they headed for the classroom. "Aren't you a junior?"

Kurt thought back to how Trent knew he was from a public school. "Why does it seem like everyone seems to know all about me?"

The other boy, a tall African-American, laughed. "News travels fast around here."

"Oh, this is Wes," Blaine pointed to the Asian then to the other boy, "and that's David. Guys, this is Kurt."

Kurt gave the two boys shy smiles as Blaine pulled open a door and walked inside. Kurt followed Wes and David into the room and stopped at the front. The tables were placed so that they were in groups of four. Everyone was already seated and was talking quietly to each other while they waited for the bell to ring. Kurt had no idea where he was going to sit.

"Why don't you come sit with us?" Kurt looked up at the friendly smile. He hadn't realized that Blaine was still standing next to him.

"Thank you," Kurt replied shyly. He ducked his head, hoping that Blaine wouldn't see the blush that was tinting his cheeks pink and followed the boy to a group of tables in the back of the room. He took a seat next to Blaine and across from David. Wes sat next to David and across from Blaine.

Once the bell rang, their teacher wrote their assignment on the board. They were supposed to work in their groups to translate a passage that was in the book. After explaining a few things to them, she let them get to work.

"You still never answered my question earlier," Wes spoke up, looking right at Kurt, while they all turned their textbooks to the assigned page.

"What question?" Kurt couldn't remember Wes asking him anything.

"What are you doing in AP French? Everyone in this room is a senior. And, no offense or anything, but I didn't think public schools put much emphasis on their French classes."

"I'm pretty good at French," Kurt answered while fighting a blush. He had always been so fascinated with Paris, even when he was younger. He started learning the language when he was about nine. He smiled sadly when he remembered the medley Coach Sylvester made him sing in French when she found out he was proficient in the language.

"Then you'll be a great addition to our group," Blaine spoke up, placing a hand on Kurt's shoulder and giving him a bright smile. "We're pretty horrible at it."

"Speak for yourself," David rolled his eyes at Blaine.

"How was your first day of classes?" Mercedes asked. Kurt had called her as soon as classes ended.

"The workload here is so much harder than McKinley," Kurt walked into his room and sat down on his bed. Trent wasn't around. "But I guess my dad will be getting his money's worth. They're big on academics, here."

"How are you adjusting? Is everyone being nice?" Kurt heard the concern in his best friend's voice. Mercedes had been feeling a little guilty that she hadn't noticed how bad the bullying had gotten and was doing her best to make it up to him.

"Everyone's so nice here," Kurt answered honestly. "They're more polite and civilized than some of the people back at McKinley. My roommate and I get along great and I've met some people in my classes. I still don't have anyone I can actually call a friend, but it's only been a day."

"There's something you're not telling me," Mercedes said suspiciously.

"I…met someone." Kurt said hesitantly. A smile broke out on his face and he had to pull his phone away from his ear when Mercedes started screaming.

"What? Who? When? ALREADY?" Mercedes asked in disbelief. Kurt could hear other voices in the background asking her what was going on.

"Not like that!" Kurt said with a small laugh. "I was walking around yesterday when I noticed that a lot of people were all going somewhere. So I stopped this guy who told me that the Warblers were performing in one the commons. So he grabbed my hand and took me to the room they were performing in. Oh Gaga, he didn't let go of my hand the entire time we were walking there. His name is Blaine."

"You aren't jumping to conclusions or anything, are you?" Mercedes asked suspiciously.

"It's not like I'm in love with him or anything," Kurt rolled his eyes even though he knew Mercedes couldn't see him. "I'm just…smitten."

"Smitten? Who says that?"

"I do, apparently. You should have been there Mercedes. I swear he was looking _right at me_ when he was singing."

"Singing? What? When was he singing?"

"After he took me to the commons, he left me standing at the door and started singing. He's in the Warblers apparently. They sang Teenage Dream and he was looking _right at me_ through most of the song. It was the most amazing thing ever, Mercedes. I think I fell slightly in love with him at that moment."

"Kurt," Mercedes said all of a sudden. "Mr. Shue's here and we're going to get started. I have to go. I'll call you back later, alright? You still have to tell me all about this guy singing at you."

Kurt managed to get out a quick goodbye before the phone call cut off. He sighed and lay down on his bed. He missed glee practices. He hated having to sway in the background while Rachel and Finn took the lead yet again, but did miss them all. They were his friends after all.

_Thanks again for all the reviews, guys. It was one of the reasons I wrote the next chapter real quick. I don't usually have a set schedule for updating but I TRY to get a chapter out at least every two or three weeks. But it all depends on the response I get really and the flow of ideas. There really wasn't much Blaine/Kurt interaction in this, but I wanted to get Kurt situated in the school first before Blaine comes along and starts wooing him, haha. And I wanted to fit the Teenage Dream scene into all of this because it was that performance that made me watch glee. I hope I did alright with this. Anyway, thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think about it. And if there's anything in particular you want to see because suggestions are always welcome. They usually help me move the story forward faster when I get ideas from them. _


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer: All I own is the plot and whatever characters you don't recognize. _

_Thanks so much for all the alerts/reviews/favorites. I'm glad to see that you guys are enjoying this._

Trent still hadn't returned to the dorm room by dinner time so Kurt ended up walking down to the dining hall by himself. He pushed open the double doors and saw that the room was already half filled with boys talking and laughing over their dinners. He recognized a few guys in the room from his classes and even saw some of the guys Trent had introduced him to yesterday. But, he wasn't comfortable just walking up to them and asking to sit with them just yet so after he got his food, he took a seat at the first empty table he saw.

"Mind if I sit down?" Kurt looked up from his food and saw Blaine there with a small smile on his face.

"Uh, n-no," Kurt stammered. Blaine flashed him a grin and took a seat across from him.

"So how was your first day of classes?" Blaine tried to start up a conversation.

"It was alright," Kurt shrugged. "I have a lot of catching up to do, though. After dinner I have a date with a humongous pile of homework."

"Sounds like fun," Blaine couldn't help but chuckle at the disgruntled face Kurt made. "I can help you if you want."

"I might just take you up on that offer." Kurt smirked slightly. Silence fell over the two boys as they ate their dinners.

"So, what brought you to Dalton?" Blaine asked after a while.

"Um," Kurt glanced down at his hands and his grip tightened on his fork. He knew someone was going to ask this sooner or later, but he didn't think it would be this early. "I had some problems at my old school." Kurt tried his best to sound nonchalant about it. "So I transferred here. And besides, Dalton has a better academic program than McKinley and would definitely look a lot better on a college application."

"You definitely get your money's worth," Blaine agreed. He noticed something flash in Kurt's eyes—which now looked gray, instead of the blue he originally thought it was—that he thought was guilt. But, before he could think much of it, it was gone.

"Yeah, at least dad and Carole didn't waste their money," Kurt mumbled softly. Blaine had a feeling he said it more for himself.

"Carole?" Blaine asked politely, breaking Kurt away from his thoughts.

"My step-mother," Kurt answered. "She and my dad got married just a week ago."

"Oh," Blaine took a few more bites of his food and discreetly watched Kurt. The younger boy was just about finished with his dinner.

"I forgot to ask you," Blaine spoke up after a while. Kurt looked up from his near empty plate and looked at him. "What did you think about the Warblers' performance yesterday?"

Blaine smirked slightly when he saw the smile that broke out on Kurt's face.

"It was really good," Kurt responded excitedly. "I would've never pictured Teenage Dream as an a cappella song but the way you guys did it was amazing!"

"I'm glad you liked it. We were thinking of using that at the sectionals competition next month, but I'm not too sure."

"You guys are going to compete at sectionals?" Kurt felt a wave of sadness wash over him as he thought about New Directions. He hated leaving them, especially so soon to the competition. It was hard enough finding a replacement for Matt. Now with him gone, they had to find another member if they want to qualify to compete and it's hard finding new members for glee club at McKinley.

"Yup. Luckily, we're not competing in the same sectionals as Vocal Adrenaline—that's the glee club from Carmel High School. We competed against them last year and they crushed us."

"Vocal Adrenaline is really good," Kurt hated to admit it, but it was the truth.

"Yeah," Blaine nodded in agreement. "But Wes thinks that we might have a chance now because Jesse St. James graduated last year—wait, you know Vocal Adrenaline?"

"We competed against them at Regionals last year."

"You were in glee club at your old school?" Blaine sounded surprised.

"New Directions," Kurt responded. He saw the confused look Blaine gave him and quickly explained. "That was the name of our glee club at McKinley: New Directions. We managed to win sectionals but we came in last at Regionals."

"Are you planning on joining the glee club here?" Blaine asked casually. If Kurt joined the Warblers, that gave him another excuse to spend more time and talk with Kurt. It would make winning this bet so much easier for him.

"It's crossed my mind," Kurt said slowly. "But I'm not sure yet."

"You should!" Blaine said enthusiastically. "It might make adjusting a lot easier if you met other people you shared interests with. And all the guys in the Warblers are really nice."

"I guess," Kurt sounded really hesitant. A part of him still felt like he was betraying New Directions by joining the Warblers, even if they did say that he should do it. "But I heard that they only have auditions at the start of every term so I'd have to wait until January."

"I'm sure they can make an exception for you since you just transferred. I can talk to them if you want. Wes and David are on the council."

"Council?"

"The Warblers have a council of three upperclassmen who sort of run the whole thing. They lead the meetings and listen to suggestions and make the set list and all that kind of stuff," Blaine explained.

"Oh," Kurt looked down at his now empty plate and took in all this information. He thought about it. The rest of New Directions pretty much ordered him to join, and he really did love to sing. "I guess I can give it a shot."

"Great. I'll talk to Wes and David later and I'll let you know what they say." Blaine reached forward and placed a hand over Kurt's.

"Thanks, Blaine," Kurt said softly while his cheeks reddened once again. He's been doing a lot of blushing since he got here.

"I've got a favor to ask," Blaine asked when he walked into the Warblers meeting after dinner. They were still waiting for a few of the guys so they haven't started.

"Oh?" Wes looked up from the papers he was holding and looked at Blaine.

"I need you guys to give Kurt an audition." Blaine responded. This caught the attention of the nearby Warblers.

"Kurt?" Samuel, the third member of the council, asked. "Who's that?"

"The new kid," David answered before looking to Blaine. "But we only hold auditions at the start of every term. Can't it wait until January? It's only about three months away."

"But Kurt sings and we could use him for sectionals." Blaine insisted.

"How do you know he sings?" Wes asked suspiciously. "And, sectionals are in a month. That won't be enough time for him to learn all our stuff."

"I'm sure he can handle it," Blaine sounded confident even though he really wasn't sure if Kurt could learn it all in a month. He saw that all the Warblers had already arrived and were watching him talk to the council. He heard one of them, he wasn't sure who, ask him why he wanted the new kid to join so much. The Warblers had teased him after their Teenage Dream performance because they all noticed him singing to Kurt. Only Wes and David knew the real story, everyone else thought he was interested in Kurt.

"He told me he was in the glee club at his old school," Blaine added. "They won their sectionals so he's got to be good."

"Oh really?" Samuel looked interested and Blaine noticed that Wes looked thoughtful. He only needed two of the council members to agree to give Kurt an audition.

"But have you heard him? Just because he was in glee club and they won doesn't mean that _he_ was any good." David gave Blaine a look that the shorter boy almost instantly understood. David knew why he was trying to get Kurt into the Warblers and he wasn't going to let Blaine win that easily.

"Why don't we see for ourselves then?" Samuel spoke up before Blaine could say anything. He had pulled his laptop out of his bag and placed it on the table. "What school was he from?"

"McKinley. He said the glee club was called New Directions," Blaine answered as he watched Samuel turn his laptop on. "Why?"

"I'm sure there's a video of their sectionals performance somewhere." Samuel answered with his eyes on the screen and his fingers danced across the keyboard. "We'll see for ourselves if he can sing. And if he shows any promise, we'll give him an audition."

Blaine agreed and took a seat on an empty arm chair nearby. This was the best he could ask for at this point. So now he just hoped that they found a video and it was enough to please the council. After a few minutes, Samuel turned his laptop so it was facing everyone in the room. He, Wes, and David moved to stand on the other side of the table so they could all watch.

"I found their sectionals performance," Samuel pressed play and all the boys in the room moved in close together to watch from the laptop screen.

Blaine watched as the announced walked up on stage and announced the group. He raised an eyebrow when the lights dimmed but no one walked up onto the stage. The music started up but there was still no one there. He could hear some of the boys in the room voice his very thoughts. But then, a voice started singing and the camera moved to point to the back of the room where a small dark haired girl was walking down the aisles while singing.

Blaine glanced over to the Council and saw them giving confused looks at the single girl who was walking through the aisles while still singing. Blaine was equally confused. Where was the rest of the group? Blaine looked back at the screen and saw the girl make her way up to the stage, but she was still alone. But when the singer sang the part about a band, she raised her hands to the two doors in the back and everyone watched with raised eyebrows as the rest of the glee club finally made their way to the stage.

As the small girl sang the last note, Blaine could see the audience giving her a standing ovation. She introduced New Directions in a breathless voice and walked to join the group as they began singing. Blaine noticed Kurt standing in the front and smiled. He looked a lot younger, and cuter, there. He was hoping that since Kurt was in the front, it meant he had a solo. But, a tall boy in the back moved forward and started singing while everyone else began a series of simple dance moves. Blaine couldn't help but smile at how cute Kurt looked dancing around.

Blaine had to admit that they sounded really good. He could see that a lot of the other Warblers thought the same thing. He looked back over to where the council was standing and was glad to see that they all seemed to like what they were seeing. Once they video ended, all the Warblers turned to the council to see what they would decide.

"Well, they were good," Wes finally admitted. "They weren't all that great, but they were good. But this didn't really show much about Kurt singing."

"Why don't you just give him a chance?" Nick, a Warbler who was seated near Blaine asked. "He can't be horrible, right?"

Blaine sent him a grateful smile and turned to Wes to see what he would say. The Asian boy turned to the other two boys in the council and they talked in hushed tones for a while.

"Fine," David finally announced. "We'll give him a shot. But he better be good, Anderson."

Blaine grinned up at his friend and thanked him.

"Guess what," Kurt nearly jumped a foot into the air when someone suddenly came up behind him while he was walking to his French class. He may have realized that Dalton was no McKinley, but his nerves were still a little on end. Kurt turned to see Blaine standing behind him with a triumphant looking grin on his face.

"What?" Kurt asked, trying to calm his still rapidly beating heart.

"I got you an audition."

"Really?" Kurt asked excitedly.

"Uh-huh," Blaine put his hand on Kurt's back and walked forward, taking Kurt with him as he continued to talk. "It took a little convincing though. They wanted to make sure you were even able to sing before they allowed the audition."

Kurt's face had heated up when he felt the warmth of Blaine's hand on his back. The older boy had removed it after a while—Kurt thought that he kept it there a few seconds longer than was necessary, but it could have just been him—but he was still slightly red. "How did you convince them I could sing?"

"Sam—he's one of the council members," Blaine explained. "He pulled out his laptop and found a video of your sectionals performance on the Show Choir Committee's website and played it for everyone. Good job, by the way. It isn't something the Warblers would ever do, but you guys did good."

Kurt groaned a little, taking Blaine by surprise. He would have thought Kurt would like this news.

"Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm glad that I got the audition," Kurt hastily added when he noticed the look on Blaine's face. "I was just hoping that you guys would have seen a different performance, like maybe our Journey medley at Regionals. Our sectionals performance wasn't all too great. We only had under an hour to put it together."

"What? Why?" Blaine stopped in front of their class and turned to Kurt.

"The two teams we were competing against got a hold of our set list and stole our songs and even our choreography—there was a member who was in a wheel chair so we were planning on singing Proud Mary in wheelchairs for him. And, to make things even worse, we were performing last, so of course everyone would have thought that _we_ were the ones who stole their songs. So we had to put something together real quick and that was what we came up with. Not our best work."

Blaine felt his jaw drop as he watched Kurt open the door and enter the class. He stared at the boy in shock and amazement. They had done that in under an hour? He saw Wes and David giving him confused looks and he simply shook his head, silently telling them that he'll explain later. He turned back to Kurt, who was listening intently to Mademoiselle Moseley, and wondered what other surprising things he'll find out about him.

_You know what I just realized? I put more effort into this story than I do in my others. The chapters are twice, even three times, as long as the others and I update waaaay more frequently. I sometimes took months to update before. I guess the response I get from this is great motivation. I got like forty emails last night about alerts and favorites for this story. Thanks SOOOO much, guys. Especially those of you who took the time to review; it really does motivate me to write more. _

_I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I'm having Blaine start slow with Kurt because I think he'll freak the poor guy out if he started flirting like crazy with him when they barely even know each other. Don't forget to review and tell me what you think! :)_


	4. Chapter 4

_Thanks for all the alerts/favorites/reviews. You guys are AMAZING. No lie._

_Note: This is pretty much AU just in case you haven't figured that out. Also, I made up the names of all the other Warblers because the show doesn't really tell much about them. And I wrote Samuel in before I saw that the third council member's name was Thad, sooooo..yeah. _

_Disclaimer: If I owned Glee, there would have been an epic Klaine moment in the Valentine's day episode. Speaking of which (and in case you haven't seen it then this will be a bit of a spoiler, maybe) the whole "didn't they get together in the end" thing so shows a possibility that they will have their happily ever after. And Blaine was looking right at Kurt when he said 'you' for the I love you part. _

"Did you tell Kurt about his audition?" Wes asked when Blaine walked into the Warblers' practice room.

"I did," Blaine sat down in the arm chair closest to the Council's table. "You'll never believe what he told me."

"Don't tell me he doesn't want to do it," David crossed his arms and sat on the table.

"No, he's glad that he got the audition," Blaine shook his head. "He told me that the video we watched of their sectionals performance, well, they put that number together in like under an hour."

"What?" Wes's eyebrows shot up. "An hour? Why?"

"Apparently the other two teams they were competing against stole their set list. And they were performing last so they had to put something together real quick. And they still managed to win. Can you believe that?"

"That's impressive," Samuel looked up from what he was typing. Blaine thought he could detect some awe in his expression and saw similar looks on Wes and David's faces.

"Well, in that case, I can't wait to see what this kid does for his audition." David stood up and went behind the table to take his seat while Wes banged his gavel, signaling the start of their meeting.

"You have an audition? That's great, Kurt!" Rachel's face smiled up at him from his computer screen. He was talking to Rachel and Mercedes on Skype and telling them about his audition. "We'll get to see you at sectionals next month!"

"That's if I get in," Kurt reminded her.

"Of course you'll get in!" Mercedes interjected. "Those Warblers will be complete idiots if they don't let you in."

"When's your audition?" Rachel asked.

"Friday," Kurt answered. "That's two days away and I have no idea what to sing!"

"Well, you have to choose something that shows off how amazing your voice is," Mercedes started.

"And it should be something that means a lot to you because it makes your singing all the better," Rachel added.

Kurt stopped and thought about what the two girls said and one song came to mind. "All I can think of right now is Defying Gravity."

"Are you sure?" Rachel asked. She gave Kurt a look he couldn't quite place.

"Yeah, that high note in the song…" Mercedes trailed off. She didn't need to continue; they were all thinking about the little diva-off Kurt and Rachel had last year.

Kurt bit his lip and brushed his hair off his forehead. "About that…"

"I knew it!" Rachel exclaimed out of nowhere, taking Kurt and Mercedes by surprise.

"Knew what?" Mercedes asked. "What are you going on about?"

"You screwed up the note on purpose, didn't you?" Rachel accused. Kurt looked slightly embarrassed while Mercedes looked confused. "I knew that you sounded off! Even if you _had_ been unable to do it, it wouldn't have sounded like that!"

"Did you, really?" Mercedes looked at Kurt expectantly.

"Yes," Kurt answered softly.

"What?" Mercedes exclaimed at the same time Rachel shouted "Why?"

"You could have beat Rachel if you didn't blow that note! You could have gotten a solo at sectionals!" Mercedes looked livid. She knew how badly Kurt wanted a solo and couldn't understand why he would mess up the chance to get one.

"I couldn't do that to my dad," Kurt admitted sadly.

"Your dad?" Rachel looked confused. "But wasn't your dad the on who got Mr. Shuester to let you audition in the first place?"

"He did. And he was so upset when I told him what I did. But the day before the diva-off, my dad got a call. It was some anonymous person telling him that his son was a fag."

"Oh, Kurt," Mercedes looked at him sadly while Rachel looked angry.

"He looked so hurt and confused," Kurt continued. He looked down at the hands clenched into fists on his lap. He didn't have to look at the screen to know that the two girls had pitying looks on their faces. "I've dealt with that kind of stuff before so I could ignore it just fine, but my dad, he never had to deal with that kind of stuff. I could tell he didn't know how to handle it. The way his face looked like after he got the call—it would have only gotten worse if I sang a song intended for a female singer in front of a thousand people at the competition."

"Kurt, I'm so sorry." Rachel wanted nothing more than to pull the boy into a hug right now.

"It's fine," Kurt smiled sadly.

"You should sing it at your audition," Mercedes said after a while.

"Yeah," Rachel quickly agreed. "The fact that you're able to hit a high F should really impress them."

"Yeah. And, it is kind of like my personal anthem," Kurt answered. He smiled at his friends, but there was still a sad tone in his voice.

"So, what's been happening with that Blake guy?" Mercedes changed the subject to something happier.

"Who's that?" Rachel asked.

"The guy Kurt's in love with."

"Oh my god, really?" Rachel squealed and Kurt turned bright red.

"Okay, one, his name is Blaine, not Blake," Kurt smiled at just the thought of the older boy. "And two, I'm not _in love_ with him. Though, I think I just found another reason to love him."

"And what's that?" Both girls looked at Kurt expectantly.

"He was the one who got me the audition," Kurt answered with a fond smile on his face. "The Warblers are pretty strict with their ways and always follow protocol. They don't have auditions until the start of each term so I would have had to wait until after winter break to try and get in, but Blaine managed to get them to make an exception for me."

"Wait, is this the same guy who sang to you?" Rachel asked. Mercedes answered for him and Rachel squealed again.

"Guys! I don't even know for sure if he's gay yet." Kurt shuddered slightly when he thought back to how horrible his crush on Finn went. There was no way he was going to try anything with Blaine until he was sure that he swung that way. But, of course, the girls weren't hearing any of it and were already talking about date ideas.

"Kurt," Kurt stopped walking and turned to see Blaine standing in front of a set of doors. "Heading to dinner?"

"Yeah," Kurt nodded. "Where did you come from?"

"Warblers practice," Blaine answered. Wes and David walked out of the doors behind Blaine and nodded hello at Kurt. Kurt waved back.

"Excited for your audition?" David asked as the four boys began to walk to the dining hall.

"Nervous is more like it," Kurt responded. "But I have a song picked out and everything."

"What is it? Do you need help practicing?" Blaine asked.

"No, it's fine. And, I think I want to keep it a surprise for now," Kurt gave Blaine a sly smile. Blaine gave him a questioning look but smiled back. He invited Kurt to sit with him, Wes, and David and the younger boy happily agreed.

"So, Blaine told us the story behind your sectionals performance," Wes started when they were all seated and had begun eating. "I must say, I'm quite impressed. Your performance was good. I could only imagine how better it would have been if you guys had practiced properly."

"It would have been so much better," Kurt stated proudly. "Especially if we could have done our original set-list; it was perfect. We chose awesome songs and had amazing choreography."

"Didn't you mention something about wheelchairs?" Blaine asked curiously.

"Wheelchairs?" David asked, looking confused.

"We had a number where we were all supposed to perform in wheelchairs. I was so pissed when we couldn't do that. It took us forever to perfect that routine; dancing around in wheelchairs is no easy task."

"Wheelchairs? Where did you guys get the idea to do that?" Wes asked incredulously. He never would have come up with anything like that for the Warblers' numbers. The idea would have never even crossed his mind.

"One of the guys in New Directions, Artie, is in a wheelchair." Kurt explained. He tried hard not to blush at the attention the boys were giving him. He had been so used to being ignored at McKinley that having three boys give him all their attention was making him feel nervous. "We didn't have enough money in our budget to get a special bus for Artie's wheelchair so we had to have a bake sale to raise money. Our director thought we were being a little insensitive to Artie when we were talking about it so he decided that we had to spend a few hours every day for a week in wheelchairs and then perform a number in it so that we could see how much harder Artie had to work than all of us."

"That was nice of you guys to do that for him," Blaine flashed Kurt a bright smile that made the butterflies flutter around in his stomach. "Your old glee club sounds like a bunch of nice people."

"Yeah," Kurt smiled fondly as he thought about each of them. "We didn't all get along at first but after a while we grew close. We're almost like family. They were the ones who told me I should try out for the glee club here."

"Where did you go to school again?" Wes asked Kurt.

"William McKinley High school."

"Aren't we competing against them next month?" Wes asked David. The taller boy thought about it for a while then nodded.

Wes's expression hardened and he turned to give Kurt a cold look. Kurt was taken aback. Had he done something to offend the other boy? Kurt thought back on their conversation and tried to find any possible faux pas he could have made but nothing came to mind. He fidgeted in his seat slightly under the intensity of the Asian's gaze.

"Wes?" Blaine raised an eyebrow at his friend, silently asking him what he was doing.

"You're not here to spy on the Warblers, are you?" Wes shot Kurt an accusing glare.

"Wes!" Blaine said with a roll of his eyes. He then turned to Kurt, ignoring the still glaring boy. "Don't mind Wes, he gets a little crazy and over protective when it comes to competitions."

"What? It makes sense!" Wes stated loudly, causing a few boys at the other tables to look in their direction. "He suddenly transfers out of nowhere and he's going to try and join the Warblers a month before sectionals. And he just said that his old glee club was the one who told him to join! What if they were just using him to get information about us so they could defeat us? They had their set list stolen last year, right? What if they were going to do that to us to ensure a win at sectionals?"

"He's got a bit of a point," David said after a while.

"Wes, who would spend thousands of dollars to transfer to a school just to steal their set list for sectionals? That's crazy." Blaine said exasperatedly.

"It's not _that_ crazy," Kurt said quietly. The three older boys all stopped and looked at him. Wes continued to glare at him, David looked questioning, and Blaine looked like he couldn't believe that he was agreeing with Wes.

"Last year," Kurt hurried to explain. "The lead singer from Vocal Adrenaline, Jesse St. James, transferred to McKinley and joined New Directions."

The three Warblers shared a look of confusion. They hadn't heard about that. Though, it would explain why they didn't see the Jesse St. James in the show Vocal Adrenaline did after they won their sectionals. Blaine beckoned for Kurt to continue his story.

"Well, he said he joined because he loved our lead singer, Rachel—for the record, she probably would have jumped to the same conclusion as Wes if they had switched positions." Kurt laughed softly when he thought about how crazy Rachel could get when it came to New Directions. What sane person would send someone to a crack house, really? "Anyway, he said he quit Vocal Adrenaline because he knew Rachel wouldn't be with him completely if they were on opposing teams. So he joined us and then a couple days before regionals, he quit. Vocal Adrenaline actually came to our auditorium and did a little number to show us that they weren't going to lose to us. It was horrible. It put everyone in a pretty bad funk for a while."

"That's horrible," Blaine commented.

"That isn't the worst of it," Kurt made a face at the memory. He was still angry at Jesse for it. "He called Rachel out into the parking lot, and when she ran up to meet him, the members of Vocal Adrenaline egged her. She's a vegan so of course it gave her nightmares. And he completely broke her heart and she wasn't able to sing for a couple of days."

"So," Kurt looked straight at Wes. "I would never do anything like that to the Warblers. We had such a hard time with the opposing teams trying to mess us up before the competition. We know how hard that is so we would _never_ do that to anyone else."

"Okay," Wes said slowly. He still sounded a little suspicious, but at least he wasn't glaring daggers at Kurt anymore. Kurt couldn't help but smile at how much he reminded him of Rachel Berry.

Friday came faster than Kurt expected. He barely ate and could hardly focus in any of his classes. He had never been nervous for an audition before so he had no idea why he was so freaked out now.

"Kurt, relax, you'll be fine." Blaine told him in French class. Kurt had spent the last five minutes nervously tapping his pencil against his desk. Blaine reached over and gave his hand a comforting squeeze before he went back to his work. If Kurt hadn't been looking down at his desk to hide his blush, he may have noticed the smirk Blaine sent Wes and David and the eye rolls the two boys did as a response.

Before he knew it, classes were over. He hurried to his dorm room to drop his things off and freshen up a little. The Warblers were meeting in an hour and Kurt had to be there to audition in front of everyone. He combed his hair and pulled out his hair spray to make sure it stayed in place. He looked at himself in the mirror and took a deep breath to help him calm down.

"I can do this," He told his reflection.

"Who are you talking to?" Kurt turned head so fast he was surprised that he didn't get whip lash. He saw Trent standing at the doorway of their shared room.

"I have an audition for the Warblers in forty-five minutes, I'm a little nervous," Kurt admitted.

"Really? That's cool," Trent shed his blazer off and tossed it onto the bed. "I didn't know you could sing."

"I sang in my old glee club," Kurt told him. He watched Trent pull out some clothes and begin to unbutton his shirt. Kurt had been so afraid of telling Trent he was gay, but knew he had to since he was going to spend the remainder of the year sharing a room with him. Trent had taken it without so much as batting an eyelash and wasn't uncomfortable changing in front of Kurt. Kurt marveled at how different everyone here was from McKinley.

"Well, I'm off to soccer practice," Trent announced after he changed into his practice clothes. "Good luck on your audition, Kurt."

"Thanks." Kurt watched him go before going to get his phone. He checked it and saw that he had five new messages. He opened them and read each one. They were from Mercedes, Finn, Rachel, Brittany, and Tina; they were all wishing him good luck on his audition. He sent them all a quick thank you, knowing that they were probably in the choir room practicing right now. He turned to check the time. He had twenty minutes. He decided to head down to the practice room; there was, after all, no harm in being early.

He still had fifteen minutes to go when he reached the practice room. But when he walked in, he already saw that the room was already full; it seemed like everyone had gotten there early. Kurt saw Blaine and caught his eye. The older boy gave him a reassuring smile and mouthed 'good luck'.

"Well," Wes stood up from where he sat at a table in front of everyone, with David on his left, and another boy Kurt didn't know on his right. "Since it looks like everyone is here, why don't we get started?"

There was a murmur of agreement from everyone. Kurt's palms began to sweat and he could feel his hands shaking slightly.

"If you're ready, Kurt." Wes motioned for Kurt to move to the front of the room. Kurt took a deep breath and stepped forward with his head held high. Even if he felt like he was going to throw up from all this anxiety, he wasn't about to show all of the boys in the room how nervous he was.

Kurt handed his sheet music to the person at the piano and nodded at him to start.

Blaine sat up straighter when Jeff, who was at the piano, began to play. Kurt looked around the room before opening his mouth to sing.

"_Something has changed within me, something is not the same."_

Blaine's eyes widened slightly. He leaned forward when Kurt started on the chorus. Kurt could _sing_. Blaine had figured that he could since he was in glee club, but since Kurt was chorus vocal, he assumed that there really wasn't anything special about his voice. Blaine recognized this song from Wicked and knew that there was an incredibly high note at the end. Kurt could hit that note?

He looked around the room and saw that everyone was staring intently at Kurt. They all seemed captivated by his voice, and Blaine had to admit he was, too. Blaine had heard this song but he had never heard it sung with as much emotion as Kurt was doing now. He recognized that the song was coming to a close and new that the high note was next. Blaine held his breath and leaned forward, his eyes never leaving Kurt.

Kurt sang the note perfectly. Blaine's jaw dropped. Once Kurt finished singing, he tore his eyes away from the boy and looked at the council. He saw David and Samuel looking at Kurt in awe. He turned to Wes and saw an excited look in the boy's eyes. Being an all boys choir, they couldn't do songs with too high notes because no one could reach it. But, with Kurt's range, that just opened a whole new selection of songs they could do. Blaine could practically see Wes dancing for joy at the possibilities and couldn't help but grin.

Kurt bit his lip and tried not to fidget around where he stood. He had finished his song but the boys still stared at him silently; no one was saying anything or moving, they all just stared at him with wide eyes. 'Did I do horribly?' Kurt started to feel a little insecure.

Then, as a whole, the boys in the room broke into applause. One by one, they all stood. Kurt caught Blaine's eye and felt himself go a little weak at the knees at the smile on the older boy's face as he clapped along with everyone else.

"I guess we don't have to ask for a vote," David spoke up when the applause had died down. Kurt turned to look at him. "Welcome to the Warblers."

Kurt thanked him and looked around the room, unsure of what to do. He saw Blaine waving him over and hurried to his side. The two exchanged a smile and Kurt was taken by surprise when Blaine reached forward and hugged him. It was a short hug, it was gone before Kurt could even react, but it was enough to get a swarm of butterflies to start a riot in Kurt's stomach.

"Congratulations, Kurt." Blaine noticed the dazed look in his eyes and smirked slightly. Now that Kurt was in the Warblers, he had an excuse to spend more time with him. And from the looks of it, Kurt has already developed a crush on him. This was going to be the easiest thousand dollars he ever got.

_You know, I'm slightly amazed at how long I make these chapters. I usually stop after about three pages, but this one here is eight! I feel quite accomplished actually. _

_I was __**supposed**__ to have Kurt sing Don't Cry For Me Argentina like he did in Special Education, but then __**kyubifreak**__ mentioned Defying Gravity and personally, I prefer that song. Hope none of you mind. _

_Thanks again to all of you who alerted/favorite this, and especially to those of you who reviewed. It's really great reading what you guys think. And, don't worry, the Kurt/Blaine flirting starts now! I just had to get Kurt situated before Blaine makes a move. Haha. _

_Thanks for reading! Don't forget to review and tell me what you think :)_


	5. Chapter 5

_It never ceases to amaze me how much response I get for this story. Thanks everyone, you guys are great. Also, I just recently realized that FFnet isn't putting the page breaks I put up. So sorry if that bothered anyone with the scene changes. _

-.-.-.-

"So, Kurt's voice is amazing," Blaine spoke up when he walked into the room he shared with Wes, dressed in a pair of pajama bottoms and a loose t-shirt.

"I didn't think a guy could ever reach notes that high," Wes, who was seated at his desk, turned to face Blaine. "He'd be a great addition to the group."

"And to think you accused him of trying to sabotage the group not too long ago," Blaine teased.

"Shut up," Wes rolled his eyes. He was used to Blaine and David teasing him about how serious he tends to be. "I noticed the way you were looking at him."

"What are you talking about?"

"You had a dopey little love struck look on your face when he started singing," Wes stood up and stretched. He made his way over to his own bed and plopped down into it. He turned so he was facing Blaine, who was sitting on his own bed. "Don't tell me you're developing a little crush on this kid."

"No, of course not," Blaine retorted. "This is nothing but a game. I'm going to get him to fall head over heels in love with me, then break up with him and get my money from you and David. I admit, Kurt looks attractive enough, and his voice is amazing, but you know I don't believe in that love crap."

"If you say so," Wes turned over and pulled the sheets over his head.

Blaine turned the lights off, but lay wide awake in his bed. He mulled over what Wes said. Sure, there were times he spent with Kurt where he felt attracted to the boy, but it was nothing to concern himself over. It'll probably go away after a while. It'll just be like all the other boys have that caught his fancy in the past; he'll hook up with them, have a little fun, but eventually get bored. It was always like that for Blaine, and he liked it that way. Kurt would be no different.

-.-.-.-.-

"Mind if I join you?" Kurt looked up from his coffee and saw Blaine standing over him. Because it was Saturday, Blaine was dressed in a pair of jeans and a simple t-shirt. Though he was dressed so casually, Kurt couldn't help but admire how great he still looked. 'Get a grip of yourself, Kurt,' he told himself. ' You don't even know if he's gay. You don't want another Finn repeat.'

"Of course."

"You're up early," Blaine commented as he got started on his own breakfast. "Most guys don't get up until about ten or eleven on the weekends."

"I'm pretty used to waking up early." Kurt admitted.

"So, you've gotten through your first week at Dalton, how was it?"

"It was a lot to get used to," Kurt admitted. "I was so overwhelmed the first couple of days. But, I think I'm getting the hang of the place."

"That's great. Is it different from your old school?"

"Very. The classes are harder and everything seemed grander, and not to mention all the students here are a lot nicer and more accepting."

"Accepting?" Blaine asked curiously.

"I come from a pretty small town," Kurt stared back down into this half-empty cup of coffee. If Blaine was straight, there was a chance he could scare him away with what he was about to say, but, he had a bit of hope. If Trent was so accepting of him being gay, maybe Blaine was the same. "Everyone is pretty closed-minded there so most of the people weren't all too accepting when I finally came out of the closet."

"That must have been rough," Blaine said thoughtfully. There had been no doubt in his mind that Kurt was gay, but he had to hear it from the boy himself to be completely sure. Now, it was his turn to share a little something with Kurt. "I was picked on a lot when I came out at my old school."

"What?" Kurt's head shot up faster than Blaine could see. His eyes widened in surprise. Was Blaine saying what he thought he was saying?

"I came out in middle school," Blaine explained. He noticed the excited glint in Kurt's eyes and smiled triumphantly. Kurt was interested in him already, that much was obvious. "That was a rough year for me. So when it came time to start high school, I came here, to Dalton."

"Wow," Kurt breathed out. Blaine was gay. He had a crush on a gay guy so now he's chances just increased a little more.

"Yeah, but it was just middle school, so it wasn't too bad. It was mostly just teasing and I got pushed around a couple of times but nothing too violent. Middle school kids aren't too bad. I could only imagine how hard it was for you coming out in high school." Blaine looked at the sad distant look on Kurt's face and felt a twinge in his heart. He wanted to take that look off of his face and make him smile again.

"It was pretty bad," Kurt said sadly. "Things changed a little after I joined glee club, though. But I'm still not sure if they got better or worse."

"What do you mean?"

"Do you remember how I stopped you on Monday and you said how the Warblers were like rock stars?" Kurt asked. He continued when Blaine nodded. "Well, at McKinley, glee club was at the bottom of the social ladder."

"What? Why? Didn't you guys win your sectionals?"

"Winning sectionals didn't change anything," Kurt shrugged. "We were all still losers who got slushied every single day."

"Slushied?" Blaine had no idea what that was. "I don't think I'm familiar with that term."

"McKinley has a slushy machine," Kurt explained after taking a drink of his coffee. "The jocks would get a cup and throw it at our faces. I don't think a week ever went by without anyone getting a slushy facial."

"That's horrible," Blaine sounded aghast. "Didn't' you tell a teacher or anything?"

"The teachers don't really care. Stuff like that happens all the time at McKinley, but it's not that big a deal. Everyone in glee club just made sure to bring extra clothes. Sometimes we'd even wear rain coats over our clothes when we were in the halls."

"But what did you means when you said you weren't sure if things got better or worse?" Blaine asked. He was still trying to wrap his mind around all of this.

"Before I joined glee club, I got tossed into dumpsters a lot." Blaine wasn't sure what shocked him more; the fact that the school administration just let this happen or that Kurt said this in such a calm voice, as if he were talking about the weather or something.

"But then," Kurt continued. If he had noticed the stunned look Blaine was giving him, he chose to ignore it. "The guys who were kind of the leaders of the group who did that, Finn and Puck, they joined glee "club, so it stopped."

"So things got better?" Blaine asked, though his voiced like he already knew the answer, and that he was dreading it.

"I guess," Kurt stopped to think. "I guess it depends what you mean. The dumpster tossing stopped, so I didn't have to walk around the halls smelling like rancid meat. But, then we performed at a pep rally and everyone knew who we were. And so I got slushies thrown at me almost every day or shoved into the lockers when I passed by some idiot jock. And it got even worse when I finally came out in the middle of last year."

"That's just… I'm so sorry you had to go through all that," And Blaine meant it. He had a hard time with the teasing in middle school, but he could ignore it. No one really got physical with him.

"It's no big deal," Kurt shrugged and kept his face neutral. There was so much he kept out of what he told Blaine, but he wasn't going to tell him that, or at least not now anyway.

"Well, it's a good thing you're at Dalton," Blaine reached forward and took Kurt's hands in his and took the time to marvel at how soft they were. "I promise you nothing like that will ever happen to you here."

Kurt looked down at their hands clasped together and tried to ignore the fluttering of butterflies in his stomach. He looked up and smiled sincerely at Blaine.

"Well, I'm done," Blaine announced when he finally let go of Kurt's hands. "The Warblers practice after lunch on Saturdays, so I'll see you there?"

"Yeah, I'll be there." Kurt watched Blaine leave the dining hall. Once he was out of the doors, he let out the breath he didn't know he was holding. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.

_Oh my Gaga, he's gay!_ He tapped out and sent the message to Mercedes and Rachel, knowing that they would know what he was talking about.

-.-.-.-

Blaine walked out o the building and out into Dalton's vast courtyard. He walked until he reached the fountain and took a seat by it. He liked coming here whenever he wanted to think; there was something calming about the sound of the running water.

His thoughts went to Kurt. He's known him a week and already he found himself interested in the boy. Kurt was attractive. Blaine had always been attracted to the more masculine type guys, but Kurt had a certain boyish charm that he found interesting. And, he was smart. The few conversations he had with the younger boy showed that. And, Kurt had a sarcastic, witty sense of humor that Blaine certainly enjoyed. And, not to mention, the boy was talented; his voice was just amazing.

After finding out about Kurt's bullying problem, guilt started to bubble up in his chest. The boy had apparently gone through a lot. And Blaine could tell that Kurt was holding back. What little he did tell Blaine was enough to shock him at how horrible some kids could be, but he could just tell that Kurt wasn't telling him everything. He could only imagine how horrible things really were.

Blaine thought back on this bet he had with Wes and David. Could he really go through with all of that? He stuck his hand out and played with the water as he mulled this over. He liked Kurt enough, he seemed like a nice kid. But he couldn't turn back on the bet now that they all agreed to it. If he did, he would have to give both Wes and David five hundred dollars each and there was no way he was going to do that.

He thoughts brought up Kurt's boyish face and the sad look on his eyes when he talked about the bullying he had to go through just for being gay. Blaine hated seeing that look. The boy had already been through so much and Blaine didn't want to be another person who hurts him. Well, he thought, if Kurt never found out about the bet, he wouldn't hurt, right? It was just three months. He could keep the act up for three months. And it's not like Wes and David were going to tell Kurt about the bet. And, even if he did have to get Kurt to admit to being in love with him, it's not like it was going to hurt the boy too much. Couples 'fell in love' and broke up all the time during high school and it was no big deal.

-.-.-.-

Kurt walked out of the practice room after three hours of trying to learn his part of the sectionals song and their choreography. It was so much harder than he thought it would be. The Warblers were so serious and organized. They had the entire meeting planned out. The first twenty minutes was spent talking about their set-list and any changes they may have made to their routine. Then they ran through warm-ups, followed by a run through of their song.

The song was simple enough. It was Train's Hey, Soul Sister. Kurt knew the song well enough, but he had a hard time blending with the others. His first hurdle was getting the sound right. It was hard singing like a ukulele seeing as he wasn't actually saying any real words. Once he got the sound down, he had to get the volume right. At first, he was always too loud, his voice overpowering everyone else's. He was just so used to how New Direction was. Everyone always sang with everything they had and had no inhibitions about being loud. And, of course, after toning it down a bit he was suddenly too quiet.

The Warblers were all very patient with him, helping him along the way and giving him pointers here and there. But Kurt had a feeling the members of the council were a bit annoyed with how much time helping him was taking away from their practice. After about an hour, Wes stopped them and had them focus on their choreography.

The boys moved the furniture to the edges of the room and cleared the middle and got into their formation. Wes stood in front of them, trying to figure out where to fit Kurt. Kurt moved around a few times before Wes finally decided to place him next to David in their pyramid formation, right behind Blaine, who was standing in front because he was the lead.

Their choreography was explained to Kurt and he picked it up almost instantly. The swaying and hop-skipping around was nothing compared to the dances he had to do with New Directions. And though the dancing, if you could really even call it that, was simple enough, Kurt still continued to mess it up. He was either always too far or to close to the others and messed up their 'perfect' formation. Kurt felt his patience starting to wear thin with Wes stopping him every few seconds for being out of place. He really couldn't tell the difference and he doubted the audience would. This went on for another hour before Wes finally decided to end the practice. They put the furniture back before he reminded them of their practice tomorrow and sent them on their way.

"Kurt, can you wait a second?" Wes asked before Kurt could leave. Kurt nodded and waited for Wes to finish whatever he was doing.

He took the time to think about New Directions. This practice made him miss them more than ever. The strictness of the Warblers' practice was going to take a lot of getting used to. The way New Directions ran their practices had no real order. It seemed random most of the time. Mr. Shue would come in with a new assignment to get them thinking about songs they could possibly use for their set list. Then someone would come up to sing. And everyone would start off just sitting and watching, but soon enough, they would all start dancing or singing along and coming up with harmonies. It was fun and carefree, and Kurt missed it terribly.

"Kurt?" Kurt snapped out of his thoughts to see David waving his hands in front of his eyes and giving him a concerned look. "Are you alright? I called your name like five times."

"Sorry, I spaced out for a minute," Kurt smiled sheepishly.

"Anyway," Wes stepped forward and faced Kurt. "I'll be honest, Kurt. You have a lot of things you need to work on."

"But," the third council member, who Kurt learned was named Samuel, spoke up. "We understand why. It was your first practice and we've all been working on this for a while now. So you have a lot of catching up to do."

"Sectionals are four weeks away and we have to be perfect. So you're going to have to put in some extra practice time."

"Of course," Kurt smiled tightly. He turned on his heel and saw that most of the Warblers were still in the room. He felt his cheeks heat up when he realized that they had all heard Wes telling him how horrible he was. It was a big blow to his pride, but he made sure that didn't show. He raised his chin slightly and walked out of the room without another word.

-.-.-.-

"You could have sounded a little less harsh, Wes," Blaine spoke up after Kurt left the room. A couple of the guys around him agreed.

"I was just being honest!" Wes said defensively.

"But you have to cut the kid some slack," Samuel added. "It was his first practice. We've been working on this for almost three weeks now and Kurt just started. It's only right that he's struggling a little. And really, I thought he got the choreography part just fine. You were just being anal with the spacing."

"He was throwing a huge fit last night because he realized adding Kurt into the formation would change everything. He spent over an hour on the floor drawing diagrams of how it should be." Blaine added.

"I just want to make sure we're perfect in time for the competition." Wes blushed.

"Wes, I thought you were going to hit him with your gavel a few times," David spoke up.

"But, I didn't!" Wes countered. "And I'm sorry, okay? But really, how hard is it to blend in with everyone else? It's not like it's his first time being part of a show choir. Shouldn't he be able to blend his voice with others by now?"

"Maybe he's old glee club did things differently," Blaine suggested.

"They're certainly not like us," Samuel spoke up. He had his laptop out again. "I managed to find their regionals performance. It was much better than their sectionals one. I also found a youtube account but have yet to check out those out."

"What were you doing?" Blaine asked with a raised eyebrow. "Cyber-stalking Kurt?"

"No," Samuel rolled his eyes at the laughing boys. "I just wanted to get an idea of what our newest member was like. What kind of songs he's used to singing and that kind of stuff. And, it doesn't hurt that I can check out the competition at the same time."

"Why didn't I think about that?" Wes asked no one in particular. Samuel gave him a strange look before pressing play on the video.

Just like the last time, New Directions started their performance from the back of the room. Except this time, it was the tall guy who sang the lead last time. As he finished singing his line, door at the other aisle opened and the lead singer from last time came out again. The two began singing together and walked towards each other before walking past each other and running towards the stage.

Blaine wondered if the rest of the group will come out from the back like last time. But when the two singers reached the stage, the curtains went up to reveal the rest of the group. Blaine tried to spot Kurt but the camera focused on the two singers in the front, who were belting out the last few notes. He heard the audience break into applause and saw the boy and girl clasp hands and join the rest of the group to begin their next song.

"That explains why Kurt picked up the choreography," David spoke from beside Blaine as they watched the boys move forward and dance while the girls took seats behind them.

"Their choreography is a lot more complex than ours," Wes agreed.

Blaine kept his eyes on the screen, trying to catch as many glimpses of Kurt as he could. It was hard because the camera was constantly moving around to show the various people dancing up on stage. But, from what Blaine could see, Kurt looked a lot happier performing up there than he had at practice. Blaine had actually expected Kurt to lash out at Wes a few times.

"They're all doing different things," Wes pointed out when the group began a series of "nana's". Everyone was doing their own little pose for a while before they went back to dancing together. Then the guitar solo started up and the group broke apart with everyone doing their own dance. "It's so unsynchronized."

"But they're making it work for them." Blaine added. It was true. Everyone was doing their own thing, spinning and jumping around the stage. But it _worked_ for them. And when the camera turned to the audience, he could tell that they enjoyed it, too. A bunch of them were standing up and dancing to the music.

"That would never work for us." Blaine had to agree. He couldn't picture the Warblers standing together on stage with everyone doing their own dance as they all sang like New Directions was right now. They were all standing around the boy in the wheelchair and no two people were doing the same thing. Blaine managed to catch another glimpse of Kurt and couldn't help but smile. He looked so happy singing up there.

"They're going to be hard to beat at Sectionals," David was the first to speak when the video ended. "That was their performance last year. They've probably gotten better since then."

"That's why we have to work hard at practice," Wes said in a firm voice. "We're going to have to add a few extra hours to get Kurt caught up to everyone." A few people groaned but Wes kept talking as if he didn't hear them. "Those New Directions people are good, I'll admit that, but they're vocals aren't as good as ours. Sam, give me the link to that YouTube account."

-.-.-.-

"Kurt!" Blaine jogged slightly to catch up to the younger boy as he made his way for dinner. Kurt stopped and waited for him. "That was some practice, huh?"

"Is Wes usually that…" Kurt trailed off, trying to find the right words to say as they continued down the hall.

"Crazy?" Blaine supplied. Kurt chucked and nodded.

"He's usually tolerable. But he becomes a bit of a dictator the closer we get to competing. He's just a bit of a control freak."

"He reminds me of Rachel."

"Rachel?"

"She was the lead singer of New Directions," Kurt explained. "She's a bit controlling, too."

"Oh, that's her name." Kurt raised a slender eyebrow at him. "We watched another of your performances today; the one from regionals. It was amazing."

"How often do you guys get together to watch my old performances?" Kurt asked with a slight smirk on his face.

"It was just those two times," Blaine held his hands up in defeat and laughed softly. "They just wanted to get a feel of what kind of songs you're used to. Not everyone can pull of a cappella."

"Yeah, it's a lot harder than I thought it would be." Kurt admitted.

"But you're doing really well," Blaine smiled and held the door to the dining hall open for Kurt. "I can help you practice if you want."

"I'll hold you to that." Kurt trailed after Blaine and the two boys went to get their food.

"Hey, Kurt," Blaine asked after they took their seats at a table. "I hope I don't come off as being too forward with this, but I was wondering if you're free tomorrow."

"I—I don't have anything planned, no." Kurt stammered. Was Blaine asking him out? He had just got off the phone with Mercedes before coming down for dinner. She had been so excited when she got Kurt's text and the two of them had spent a good half hour discussing the possibility of Blaine liking Kurt. Kurt was glad he got to talk to her; it kept his mind off of the horror that was Warbler practice.

"Then would you like to go to dinner with me?"

"Dinner?" Kurt repeated dumbly. He mentally smacked himself. He could have said so many things but his brain had turned to mush right now.

"Well, curfew is ten on Sundays, so we could go to dinner at six and maybe catch a movie after?"

"I—I'd love to," Kurt managed to stammer out while blushing furiously.

"Great," Blaine smiled brightly at Kurt and began to eat his dinner.

-.-.-.-

_Hah, another chapter out. I don't think I've ever written this much, or this frequently before. My chapters just seem to get longer and longer. _

_I know Wes can be a total prick sometimes, but he's actually one of my favorite Warblers, after Kurt and Blaine. I thought he was just adorable during Bills, Bills, Bills. Lol._

_So now we see Blaine learning a little about Kurt and getting second thoughts, and they've got a date coming up. What do you think? Lol , don't forget to review and tell me what you think :D _


	6. Chapter 6

_Once again, thank you guys soooo much for the reviews/alerts/favorites. You have no idea how much they mean to me._

-.-.-.-

"Honey, relax, you'll be okay," Mercedes said reassuringly, trying to calm a nervous Kurt down.

"But, what do I do? What do I say? What do we even talk about?" Kurt rambled. He had his phone pressed up to his ear with one hand and was combing his hair with the other.

"Kurt, it's just the first date," Mercedes said calmly. "I know I haven't actually been on one, but isn't that the time where you guys get to know each other?"

"I guess," Kurt answered unsurely.

"See? So you can talk about virtually anything."

"But, what if he thinks I'm boring?"

"Babe, you're amazing," Mercedes said in a firm voice. "He'll love you. Now, it's almost time for you to meet him. Quit your worrying and go finish getting ready. "

"Thanks, Mercedes."

"Call me later with the details!"

"I will," Kurt laughed as he ended the call. He looked over at the clock and saw that he had five minutes until Blaine was supposed to arrive.

"Don't you look nice," Trent commented as he walked into the room. "Going out tonight?"

"I've got a date with Blaine," Kurt responded with a small blush.

"Blaine, huh?" Trent said with a small grin. "It's been a while since I've last seen him with a guy."

"Does he go out with guys often?" Kurt asked. It hadn't occurred to him that Blaine had dated other guys before.

"No," Trent said after giving it some thought. "I haven't seen him with a guy in a couple months now. I think the last time was at the start of the year."

"Oh," That bit of information made Kurt feel a little better. "Has he had a lot of boyfriends?"

"He doesn't really seem like the boyfriend type. I don't think he's been in a relationship longer than a month. But," Trent quickly added when he saw the look on Kurt's face. "You never know with Blaine. Maybe you guys will really hit it off."

"Maybe," Kurt said with a tight smile. "It's just the first date anyway; I may not even like it all that much."

"Yeah," Trent said a little awkwardly. A knock on the door broke the awkward silence that fell over the two roommates.

"That must be, Blaine," Kurt hurried to answer the door. He opened it to reveal a smiling Blaine.

"Hey, ready to go?"

"Yeah, just let me get a coat," Kurt returned into the room and said goodbye to Trent, who wished him luck, and walked out the door.

"I hope you don't mind Italian," Blaine said as he led Kurt to his car.

"I love Italian," Kurt smiled fondly at Blaine when he opened the passenger door for him.

-.-.-.-

"So what's your family like?" Blaine asked after he and Kurt gave the waiter their orders. "You mentioned a step-mother before?"

Kurt looked surprised that Blaine had remembered that little detail. "I also have a new step-brother, Finn," Kurt explained. "He's my age. We were in glee club together."

Blaine thanked the waiter who came and brought them their drinks and thought about what Kurt said. There was something familiar about that name. "Wait a minute; didn't you say that the Finn guy used to throw you in dumpsters?"

"Yeah, he was," Kurt replied coolly. It still bothered Blaine a little that he could talk about his bullying as if it didn't bother him.

"Your step-brother was one of your bullies?" This was something you didn't see every day.

"Yeah," Kurt shrugged. "But, he was actually one of the nicer ones. He always let me take off my coats before they threw me into the dumpsters. And, there was one time when he quit glee club for the football team and he had to slushy me, but he hesitated to do it. He's actually really nice. Just a little too concerned about his reputation sometimes."

"Oh," Blaine really had no idea how to react to this so he decided to just change the subject. "So your brother is on the football team?"

"Yeah, he's the quarterback," Kurt replied. "What about you? What's your family like?"

"I'm an only child," Blaine answered. "My dad works for this insurance company and my mom's a realtor. It really isn't all that interesting."

"So how long have you been in the Warblers?" Kurt asked.

"Since my freshman year," Blaine answered. "I didn't start auditioning for solos until last year, though."

"Oh, you guys have to audition for solos?" Kurt sounded surprised.

"Well, yeah," Blaine raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that how it was at your old glee club?"

"Not really," Kurt and Blaine looked up when the waiter came with their food. Kurt waited before they left before he continued speaking. "We don't really hold auditions for solos. Our director, Mr. Shue, usually just picks who sings the songs."

"That doesn't sound very fair," Blaine answered after a bite of his pasta.

"It's not." Kurt agreed. "Usually he just gives it to whoever he thinks can sing it. He actually has pretty good judgment when it comes to what song matches a person's voice. But Rachel, she's so used to being the star that she'll throw a fit whenever she doesn't get a solo."

"What?" Blaine couldn't imagine anyone in the Warblers doing that.

"There was this one time she quit the club because Mr. Shue decided to give Tina the lead for a song instead of her."

"That's a little immature, don't you think?"

"That's Rachel Berry for you. She always has to be the star and when she doesn't get her way she thinks her life is ruined. She isn't as bad now, though. She's actually really nice." Kurt got a small smile on his face when he remembered something. "Usually, whenever someone wanted a solo, and that wasn't often, they'd have to fight Rachel for it. There was this one time Mr. Shue gave Rachel this song I really wanted. I asked him if I could audition for it but he said that Rachel's voice was better suited for it. My dad actually came in and threw a fit and accused everyone of discrimination."

Blaine laughed softly. He felt relieved that Kurt had someone to stick up for him. "What song was it?"

"Defying Gravity; the song I sang for my Warblers audition."

"You sounded amazing when you sang that," Blaine smiled at the memory. "I'm willing to bet you got that solo."

"No, Rachel did." Blaine thought he detected a slight bitterness in Kurt's voice and was really surprised. Kurt sang that song perfectly. How could he have not gotten the solo?

"Wow, if you didn't get that song, that Rachel girl must be really good."

"Well, I didn't exactly sing the song the way I did on Friday," Kurt seemed to notice the confused look on Blaine's face. "I threw the high note."

"What? But why? Didn't you want that song?"

A sad look passed over Kurt's eyes and Blaine felt an urge to reach over the table and hug him. "My dad got a call the day before the audition. It was someone telling him his song was a fag."

Kurt spat out the slur as if it were poison and Blaine winced slightly. He's been called that name quite a few times and he knew how much it hurt.

"My dad looked so lost because he never had to deal with that before. And I knew that singing that song in front of people would only make it worse, so I decided to throw it."

"That was nice of you," Blaine commented. The two boys were silent for a while they each ate their meals. Blaine stabbed at his pasta and tried to think of a way to salvage the night. It just started and he felt like he screwed it up already. Every topic he brought up so far somehow led to talking about Kurt's bullying and that wasn't exactly a great first date conversation topic.

"Oh! You haven't gotten your bird yet," Blaine suddenly spoke up. He just remembered something he and Wes had been talking about before he left to meet Kurt.

"My…bird?" Kurt looked up from his food and gave Blaine a rather adorable confused look.

"It's a Warbler tradition," Blaine explained, glad that they were finally talking about something other than Kurt's past. Though Blaine still wanted to get to know a bit more about the boy, he had enough depressing stories for one day."There's this line of birds that have been with the school since forever. Every new Warbler gets a bird to take care of the first year that they join.

"You usually get your bird when they tell you you've been accepted. But Wes had you practice almost immediately because sectionals are so soon that he didn't have a chance to talk to the Performing Arts Director beforehand. So you're getting it on Monday."

"I don't think that's a good idea. I'm bad with pets."

"It's not that bad," Blaine reassured him. "And it's just a bird. You give it water and food and clean its cage when it gets too dirty. They're less work than most other pets."

"During my dad's wedding," Kurt started, taking Blaine by surprise. What did birds have to do with his dad's wedding? "I planned for three to be three hundred doves released during the ceremony. The wedding was indoors."

"Wouldn't that be pretty messy?"

"That's what Finn said," Kurt laughed. Blaine decided that he liked Kurt's laugh. It was clear and light sounding, kind of like bells; it was a nice sound. "So I told him that we'd feed the bird glitter."

"Glitter?" Blaine sputtered. "Okay, maybe giving you a bird isn't such a good idea."

"It's not like I actually did it!" Kurt blushed furiously. Blaine decided that was another thing he liked about Kurt; he was cute when he blushed. "I decide that the birds were a bad idea and didn't go through with it."

"But still," Blaine said with a teasing voice. "I think I'll have to stop by once in a while to make sure the bird's still alive."

Kurt laughed and rolled his glasz—Blaine finally learned what color Kurt's eyes was; it was an interesting mix between green, blue, and gray—eyes at him. The rest of the dinner was spent in light conversation, which Blaine was grateful for. They stayed away from the more personal topics and spent a good portion of the dinner just laughing and teasing each other.

After dinner, Blaine drove them to the movie theater and paid for their tickets. He had no idea what kind of movies Kurt was into so he asked Wes and David to suggest something. He had thought they were crazy for telling him to choose the horror movie, but ten minutes into the movie, he realized the genius behind it.

Kurt was jumpy and easily frightened. Blaine reached over and grabbed his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze and didn't let go of it. Kurt gripped his hand tightly for most of the movie and there were even times when he leaned over and hid his face in Blaine's shoulder. Blaine, who actually liked horror movies, enjoyed the warmth of Kurt beside him. When they got back to the school, Blaine walked Kurt to his room.

"I had a lot of fun tonight," Kurt said as he swung their clasped hands slightly between them. "Thanks a lot, Blaine."

"Thank you for agreeing to go with me," Blaine squeeze Kurt's hand. "We should do this again sometime."

"Y—yeah," Kurt stuttered slightly and Blaine could detect a faint tinge of pink on his cheeks.

They finally reached Kurt's door and Blaine let go of his hand. He smiled up at Kurt, and the other boy smiled back. Blaine leaned forward slightly and Kurt didn't move back, though his eyes widened and Blaine heard a soft gasp. Blaine took that as a good thing and leaned forward to capture Kurt's lips with his.

He was expecting to feel Kurt's soft lips move against him as the boy kissed him back and maybe a new boyfriend. But instead, Kurt moved back so quickly that he hit his head on the wall. His eyes were wide in what Blaine could only describe as fright—though he had no idea what could have scared him—and looked glassed over in tears.

"Kurt?" Blaine asked slowly. He had no idea what had come over Kurt. Had he been too forward?

"I—I have to go," Kurt responded in a shaky voice and hurried into his room without giving Blaine a chance to respond.

Blaine stared at the closed door in confusion for a few minutes before he made his way back to his own room. He spent the entire walk replaying what just happened in his head, but for the life of him, he couldn't figure out what he did wrong. After he mentioned Kurt getting a bird, things took off and they had a great time. He was almost certain that Kurt wanted to be kissed. But, why did he react like that?

-.-.-.-

"We struck gold," Wes exclaimed as soon as Blaine walked into their room.

"What are you talking about?" Blaine asked. He turned to David, who was sitting on Wes's bed but the tall boy just rolled his eyes in Wes's direction. Wes was seated in front of his desk with his laptop open in front of him.

"This!" Wes pointed to his laptop and gestured for Blaine to come look. Wes had his browser open with a few tabs out. The one on the screen was a video from YouTube called "Le Jazz Hot". Blaine turned to his over excited friend and wondered what was going on. He knew the song and it wasn't the type of song the Warblers would sing so he had no idea why Wes was even looking at it.

"Well, watch it!" Wes commanded. Blaine rolled his eyes and pressed play. The video started with a close-up on a single person staring off into the side. The person started singing and Blaine's eyes widened when he realized it was Kurt. The camera panned out to show the rest of the stage had people in suits. Blaine's eyes continued to widen and his jaw dropped as the song went on. Blaine was speechless. He already had an idea of how great Kurt's voice was. But this, this was just….wow.

"His vocal range is amazing!" Wes exclaimed when the video ended. He sounded like a five year old on Christmas morning. "I've only seen two videos so far. There's quite a lot on this account but I wanted to see the ones with Kurt singing, there wasn't a lot. It's mostly that short girl and that tall guy.

"He really is talented," David agreed. He stood up from the bed and moved to stand beside Blaine. "You should see their funk video."

"Funk video? Blaine asked while Wes clicked on one of the other tabs he had open. This video was called "Give Up the Funk." Blaine looked at Wes and David and gave them questioning looks. A funk number? Really?

Wes just grinned and pressed play. The video started with the small girl, Rachel, speaking. Blaine couldn't really understand what she was saying but he didn't really care about that. He just wanted to see Kurt. Rachel walked away and a person in a shiny gold coat, black hat, and tight red skinny jeans walked out singing. Blaine's jaw hit the floor when he realized it was Kurt.

"Is that even possible?" Blaine asked with awe in his voice. "How can he get his voice that low and still be able to hit high notes?"

"Like I said," Wes kept his eyes on the screen while he answered. "His vocal range is amazing. We're pretty much guaranteed that win at sectionals."

"Have you been spending this entire time watching video's of Kurt's old glee club?" Blaine moved from the desk and went to his dresser to get some pajamas.

"I just started," Wes shot back. "I'll watch the rest of the videos tomorrow."

David gave Wes a look that clearly said he didn't understand him before turning to Blaine. "So how was your date? Do you have a new boyfriend yet?"

"It went great," Blaine answered before he walked into the bathroom to change. David's question brought his thoughts back to what happened earlier. He still couldn't figure out what he did wrong with Kurt. He walked back into the room to see that David had already left for his own room and Wes had stopped watching videos to finish a paper.

He bid Wes goodnight and pulled the covers over his head. However, sleep wouldn't come to him. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Kurt's frightened, tear filled eyes staring back at him.

-.-.-.-

_Okay, this was a little rushed. Sorry about that. But I actually wasn't going to update this just yet but I decided to put one more chapter up. I know I've kept up a steady chapter a day so far, but I have to put this on hold for a few days because I have a paper I have to email by tomorrow, two papers I have to write for Monday, and two more for Tuesday. Not to mention I have two art projects to get in by this week. I've been doing a lot of procrastinating lately. So I have to get into serious work mode. Wish me luck! Hopefully, I'll get motivated and finish up at least two of my papers tomorrow. If I can get enough work done, I might have time to work on another chapter._

_Anyway, I just want to thank every one of you for all the support this story is getting. I'm almost to a hundred reviews! :D That's like the greatest thing ever for me. You guys are awesome. :)_


	7. Chapter 7

_Thanks so much for the reviews. I've reached a hundred! Woo-hoo! I was so happy when I checked my email this morning and saw that. As for my homework, I've had quite a productive day. I went to a café with some friends and I finished two and a half papers already. I just have to finish up my essay and I can call it a day and just work on the other two tomorrow. So, I decided to take a little break from the stress of homework and decided to write you guys another chapter while I finish up my last essay for Monday. Multi-tasking helps me focus better, oddly enough._

-.-.-.-

Though Blaine didn't get to sleep until early in the morning, he woke up earlier than usual. He took a quick shower and got dressed and ready for his classes. Wes, who was usually an early riser, was surprised to see him up so early.

"Classes don't start for another hour," Wes looked at Blaine as if he had just grown another head. "Shouldn't you still be asleep right now?"

"Kurt's an early riser," Blaine answered as he adjusted his tie in front of the mirror. "I want to meet him at his room and walk with him to breakfast."

Wes raised an eyebrow. "A breakfast date? That seems like a lot of effort for a bet."

"It's a little harder to earn Kurt's affections than I thought," Blaine answered nonchalantly. That wasn't the real reason he woke up so early. He wanted to fix whatever he did wrong last night with Kurt. He still had no idea what he did, but he might as well apologize now.

"Not as charming as you thought you were, are you now?" Wes teased as he laid his uniform out on his bed.

"I'll have him soon enough," Blaine responded confidently. He was sure Kurt liked him; it clearly looked like he did. But after last night's incident, Blaine wasn't all too sure anymore. "I'll see you in class."

Blaine gripped the strap of his bag tightly as he made his way to Kurt's room. He had practiced an apology last night and was running it through his head one more time. He reached Kurt's door and took a calming breath before picking up his fist to knock on the door.

"Blaine?" Trent answered. He only had his uniform pants on and his hair was dripping wet; he had obviously just come out of the shower.

"Is Kurt here?" Blaine asked.

"No, he left a few minute ago," Trent answered. "Did something happen during your date last night? He came back looking a little upset."

"I…it was just a misunderstanding," Blaine answered; there was a chance that he was right and whatever happened was just a big misunderstanding. "I came by to see if I could clear things up with him."

"Oh, well, he already went down to breakfast," Trent repeated. Blaine thanked the boy and made his way down to the dining hall. He walked into the dining room and searched for Kurt. He spotted the boy sitting by himself in a table at the far corner and quickly walked over.

"Kurt," Blaine walked up to the table and sat across from the boy.

"B-Blaine," Kurt looked up from his breakfast with wide eyes. Blaine opened his mouth to spout out the apologies he had been repeating to himself all morning, but was interrupted by David, who took a seat next to Kurt.

"Good morning, Blaine." The taller boy smiled up at Blaine before he turned to Kurt. "I think it's only fair to warn you Kurt, Wes may have fallen in love with you."

"What?" Kurt's eyes widened further and he dropped the piece of toast he was holding back onto his plate.

"He saw a couple of your videos online last night," David laughed at the shocked expression on both Kurt's and Blaine's faces. "He's convinced that with you on our team, we're guaranteed a win at sectionals and because of that, he'll probably love you forever."

"Where are you even finding these videos?" Kurt finally broke out of his shock. He had never even seen any videos of himself. How were the Warblers finding them?

"Your old glee club has a YouTube account," The three boys looked up to see Wes holding a tray and walking up to them. The Asian boy took seat next to Blaine and across from David. "Some girl named Rachel posted them up."

"I should have figured as much," Kurt muttered under his breath.

"Kurt, your vocal range is amazing." Wes said before he bit into his toast.

Kurt was taken aback by this. No one had ever really commented on his singing voice before. "What videos did you see?"

"Le Jazz Hot and Give up the Funk," David answered because Wes's mouth was still full. "Give up the Funk was a big shock. I never thought your voice could get so low after seeing those high notes you could reach with your audition."

"What can I say," Kurt responded with a cocky grin, "I'm quite talented. It's about time someone showed some appreciation."

"Your old club didn't appreciate you?" Wes sounded disbelieving. "How could they not? If they gave you a lead you may have won them regionals!"

"You're starting to make me think I should have transferred to Dalton sooner." Kurt smiled charmingly at Wes and for a moment, Blaine thought he felt a twinge of jealousy. But he quickly shook that thought away. Wes was just glad to have someone like Kurt on the Warblers; it wasn't like he was vying for Kurt's feelings. And besides, Blaine had nothing to be jealous of. It wasn't like he liked Kurt like that anyway; he was just trying to win a bet.

The rest of the breakfast, much to Blaine's disappointment, was spent with Wes and David talking about the new song choices that opened up to them with Kurt in their group. Wes and David were his best friends and he liked spending time with them, but Blaine found himself wishing they would just leave already. He wanted—no, needed—to talk to Kurt.

-.-.-.-

Blaine walked down the hall leading to his French class slowly, keeping his eye out for a certain junior. He usually bumped into the boy as they made their way to class, but Blaine couldn't see him anywhere. He cursed silently to himself as he walked down the hall, still keeping an eye out. He still hadn't had a chance to talk to Kurt. He had considered sending him a text message, but then he realized that he and Kurt had yet to exchange phone numbers.

"Would you hurry up?" David called from further down the hall. Blaine had been so busy looking for Kurt that he had almost forgotten that he had been walking with David. "We're going to be late at the rate you're going."

Blaine looked at the passing boys one more time before picking up his pace to catch up with David. He'll see Kurt in class anyway.

-.-.-.-

Kurt, who was flipping through his textbook, looked up when Blaine took a seat across from him. He gave the older boy a small smile and went back to scanning the pages in front of him. He had yet to talk to Blaine since last night. Quite frankly, he wasn't sure what he could say to the other boy.

He had called Mercedes after the date, as promised, and the girl exploded when Kurt told her that Blaine was about to kiss him and he moved away. Kurt had told her that he didn't know why he moved away, but in truth, he knew why he acted the way he did. He just didn't want to tell her the real reason; he had yet to tell anyone and that was something he didn't want to talk about on the phone. So he lied and said it was a reflex move and he did it before he could think about it.

"Kurt, are you alright?" Blaine asked softly.

"I'm fine," Kurt answered. Blaine looked like he was about to say something else, but stopped when their teacher moved t the front of the class to make an announcement.

"You will have an oral examination next week," Mademoiselle Moseley announced. This caused a few of the boys to groan, but she carried on as if she hadn't heard them. "Each of you is to take a piece, translate it, and present it to the class. It can be a song, a poem, or a story, it doesn't matter. Along with the oral presentation, I want you to submit the original English version, as well as your written translation. You have until next Monday."

Even though some of the boys around him seemed disappointed, Kurt was actually glad for this assignment. It was really easy, and he could put it off until the weekend and focus on his other homework. He could probably just do the Celine Dion medley he did at the cheerleading national competition last year; if he did that, he wouldn't have to put much thought into this particular assignment and he could focus on his history project that was due this week.

"Kurt," Blaine turned to him as soon as class ended. "Do you think we could talk for a bit?"

"Um, sure," Kurt shifted his bag on his shoulder. Blaine motioned for Wes and David to go down to lunch without them. The two boys gave them questioning looks but left without saying anything.

"Let's go this way," Blaine led him down the hallway going the opposite direction of the dining hall. "We'll just turn at the corner and it'll take us to the dining hall. It's just a longer way."

"Oh, okay," Kurt still wasn't so used to all the hallways. He knew all the ways to his classes just fine, but he had yet to figure out the rest of the school. A whole bunch of uniformed boys were walking in the opposite direction as them, obviously taking the shorter way to lunch.

"Kurt," Blaine started when the halls were mostly deserted. "About last night…"

"I'm sorry for running out on you like that," Kurt quickly apologized. "I shouldn't have reacted like that."

"No, Kurt," Blaine stopped walking and turned to him. "Don't apologize. It's my fault for being too forward. I shouldn't have done that. It was too soon."

"No, it wasn't," Even Kurt could hear how unsure his voice sounded. Was it really too soon? A part of him _had_ wanted Blaine to kiss him. But another part of him said he couldn't do that just yet, not after what happened back at McKinley.

"Yes, it was," Blaine said firmly. "We've only been on one date. It was way too soon to do that."

Something about Blaine's expression told Kurt that he didn't look too convinced with what he said. But, he couldn't exactly say he was skilled at reading Blaine, so he pushed those thoughts aside. "Its okay, Blaine."

"No, it isn't," Blaine said with a small smile. "Let me make it up to you."

"Make it up to me how?" Kurt asked with a small smile pulling at his lips.

"Warblers' practice isn't until five. Why don't we go get coffee or something before that? There's a great café not too far from here."

"Sounds great," Kurt grinned at the older boy as they continued to make their way down the empty hallway.

-.-.-.-

"What'll you have?" Blaine asked when he and Kurt were at the counter. Kurt looked up at the menu board and read through the choices.

"A Grande non-fat mocha," Kurt finally replied.

"I'll have a Grande non-fat mocha and a medium drip," Blaine told the person behind the counter. He reached into this pocket and pulled out his wallet.

"I can pay for mine," Kurt offered, already reaching into his pockets.

"Don't be silly," Blaine handed a few bills to the cashier before Kurt had a chance to pull his wallet out. "I'm supposed to make up for last night, remember? Do you want anything else?"

"I'm good," Kurt grinned up at his as they walked to the side to wait for their orders.

When the person behind the counter handed them their drinks, Blaine grabbed Kurt's before the younger boy could move to take it. Blaine just smiled and carried their drinks to a small table by the window.

"So," Kurt started after he gently blew at his hot drink. "Do you guys usually spend a lot of time cyber-stalking your newest members?"

"Hmm?"

"Well, before I joined you saw a video of last year's sectionals. After I joined, you watched our regionals performance. And now, Wes has seen two of the performances I've done. Do you do this for everyone? Or am I just a special case?"

"Well, you certainly are special," Blaine said flirtatiously. He smiled triumphantly when Kurt blushed slightly. He should try and make Kurt blush more. It was adorable. "But no, we don't usually do that. I don't think we've ever done that to anyone before. But, then again, we've never really had transfers from another glee club before."

"I see," Kurt took a slow sip from his drink.

"Hey, do you know what you're going to do for your French oral?" Blaine asked after a while.

"I was thinking of doing a song, actually," Kurt answered.

"What song?" Blaine sounded interested.

"I was thinking of doing a Celine Dion medley."

"That…sounds like a lot of work," Blaine said with an unsure smile.

"Not really," Kurt smiled cheekily at Blaine. "I actually sang a Celine Dion medley in French last year for…a performance."

"Really, now?" Blaine started to wonder if Kurt was ever going to stop taking him by surprise.

"Yeah, I figured that I could just do that so I don't have to worry about putting anything together. What are you doing?"

"I'm not sure, yet," Blaine answered. "I was actually wondering if you could help me."

"Help you find a piece?"

"More like help me translate," Blaine grinned sheepishly. "I do alright translating French into English because I can usually piece together what they're trying to say with the words I've translated. But I'm hopeless when it comes to translating English to French. I will probably never understand how to conjugate verbs."

"Well, French isn't for everyone," Kurt chuckled at the pained face Blaine made.

"So will you help me, then? You're so much better at it than I am." Blaine gave Kurt what he hoped was his best puppy dog eyes.

"Of course I'll help you," Kurt answered with a small smile.

-.-.-.-

Kurt and Blaine stayed at the café talking about their respective classes until it was time for them to head back for practice. As soon as they entered the room, Kurt's eyes fell on a cage that was sitting on the council table. The cage held a small yellow bird that was chirping softly.

"Kurt," Wes stood and picked up the cage. "I'd like you to meet Pavarotti."

Kurt reached out and took the cage from the council member and held it carefully. He didn't wan tto accidently drop it or do anything to freak the bird out. He saw Blaine smirking at him and rolled his eyes at the curly-haired boy.

"Your job is to take care of Pavarotti until the end of the year," David explained. Kurt nodded as the boy continued to explain something to him. But, he was too busy trying to keep the cage upright that he wasn't really paying attention.

After David finished talking, he let Kurt return the cage to the table so that they could begin their practice, which Kurt was grateful for. For a moment, he had been scared that they were going to let him hold the cage all afternoon.

One of the first things that Kurt noticed was that Wes was a lot nicer to him this time. He was still so happy that they Warblers had someone like Kurt that he was in a good mood. Kurt wasn't complaining, though. He had actually been worried that Wes would spend most of the practice correcting him. After practicing their song five times, they stopped to talk about their competition.

"I don't think we have much to worry about the Hipsters," Samuel started and everyone agreed. They shouldn't really underestimate their competition, but if they had to be honest with themselves, a bunch of singing old people wasn't much of a threat.

"So our only real competition is the group from McKinley, New Directions," Wes stood up and pointed at Kurt. "Maybe you could tell us a little bit about them, Kurt."

"Is this really fair?" Kurt asked when all eyes in the room turned to him.

"It's not like you're telling us their set list," Blaine supplied from beside Kurt. "And besides, they posted up all those performances online so if you don't feel comfortable telling us about them, we could probably just watch them. It isn't considered spying if they put it up there for the world to see."

"Has the group changed since last year?" Samuel asked.

"One of the guys from last year, Matt, transferred." Kurt said after some thought. They had a point. Rachel put up their performances online so anyone can see what kind of style they have. And, it wasn't like he was revealing anything to them—he didn't even know what songs they were doing, he left before the figured their set list out. "We got a new member, Sam. He was at Dalton last year."

"Sam? Evans?" A boy who Kurt knew as Kyle asked. Kurt nodded.

"I didn't know he sings." A few other Warblers who knew Sam murmured in agreement.

"I think this just leveled the playing fields a little," Wes spoke up. "Sam can tell them about us, and you can tell us about them."

"Well," Kurt continued. "Sam's pretty good. We didn't do all too many numbers before I left from what I could see, he could sing. Other than that, everyone is the same from last year. Though, they're going to have to find a replacement for me."

"I'll study those videos a little more and get back to you guys then." A few boys rolled their eyes at Wes. Kurt couldn't help but smile at this though. At least he wasn't digging through the dumpsters behind the McKinley auditorium like Rachel did with Vocal Adrenaline.

"Need a hand?" Blaine walked up behind Kurt as he made his way out the of the practice room.

"Yes, please," Kurt gladly handed the cage over to Blaine while he readjusted his bag on his shoulder and tightened his grip on the bag of bird seed that Samuel had given him.

"Now remember, if you run out of bird seed, go ask the council for more. No feeding Pavarotti glitter," Blaine teased.

"Shut up," Kurt said with a small glare at the laughing boy's direction.

-.-.-.-

"Thanks for all the help, Kurt," Blaine smiled sincerely at Kurt. They were studying in the junior commons and had just finished going over Blaine's choice for his oral exam tomorrow. "I just hope I don't mess this up when I get in front of everyone tomorrow."

"You'll do fine," Kurt reassured him. "We went over this so many times you should be able to say it in your sleep."

"You know, I still haven't heard what you're going to present tomorrow," Blaine noted. "Are you still doing that medley?"

"Yup. I had to modify it slightly though."

"Modify it how?"

"I had to cut it shorter," Kurt answered as he started to put his textbooks away. "The original medley was fourteen and a half minutes long."

"You sang a Celine Dion medley…in French…for fourteen and a half minutes?" Blaine asked with wide eyes. He's known Kurt for almost month now and he still found new things that made his jaw drop to the ground. Kurt nodded proudly and gave Blaine a cocky little smirk that he had grown fond of.

"Is there anything else? Were you jumping through hoops on fire while you did all that?" Blaine asked sarcastically. Kurt just smiled at him like there was something he wasn't telling him and Blaine raised an eyebrow at that.

"No, no hoops on fire," Kurt replied with a small smile.

"There's something you aren't telling me." Blaine stated.

"Maybe," Kurt replied in a little sing song voice.

"What else were you doing when sang that?" Blaine questioned.

"Just a few…tricks." Kurt had that smirk that Blaine liked on his face again.

"Tricks like what?" Blaine was really curious now. Kurt usually just told him things straight. He never dangled information like this.

"Nothing much," Kurt shrugged, though the smirk was still on his face. "A bunch of dance moves, some tumbling here and there, no big deal."

Even though Kurt kept his voice calm, Blaine saw his smirk widen slightly.

"What was this for? New Directions?" Blaine was pretty sure it wasn't that, though. Wes would have told him something by now.

"No, it was for something else." Kurt answered.

"For what?" Blaine persisted. He saw Kurt grin and knew that the younger boy was having fun with this.

"It was during my short stint as a Cheerio."

"…Cheerio?" Blaine thought about the breakfast cereal, but he was pretty sure that wasn't what Kurt was talking about.

"That's what they called the cheerleaders at McKinley." Blaine's eyes widened yet again and his jaw dropped.

"You were a…cheerleader?" Blaine asked slowly. He tried to imagine Kurt in a cheerleading uniform and liked what he came up with.

"For a while, yeah," Kurt grinned at the dumbfounded expression on Blaine's face. "The cheerleading coach wanted to add vocals to their routine so she had me and my friend, Mercedes sing for the squad."

"Is there a video of this performance somewhere?" Blaine asked with a flirty smile once he regained his composure.

"Probably," Kurt shrugged. "It was during the national competition."

Blaine made a mental note to look that up later. He shook his head and smiled at Kurt. "So, will you ever stop surprising me?"

"Probably not," Kurt replied with a smile on his own. "I think I like seeing your jaw drop. It's cute."

"So you think I'm cute?" Blaine moved closer to Kurt and bumped shoulders with him.

"Maybe I do," Kurt bumped his shoulder against Blaine and gave him a flirtatious smile. Blaine realized how close their faces had gotten. His eyes darted down to Kurt's lips, so close to his. He could easily close the distance between them and capture Kurt's lips. And he was just about to do that when Kurt's frightened eyes from last week flashed in front of his eyes. Blaine stopped himself before he moved in too close. He didn't need that to happen again.

"Well, maybe I think you're cute, too." He said teasingly as he moved away from Kurt. He thought he saw a flash of disappointment in Kurt's eyes, but before he could really think about it, Kurt stared down at his lap to hide the cute blush that was staining his normally pale cheeks.

-.-.-.-

"So how are things with Kurt?" Wes asked a few days before sectionals. "You seem to be spending more time with him. But from what I can tell, you still haven't made him your boyfriend."

"I haven't," Blaine shrugged. "But, it shouldn't be _too_ long now. He's been flirting back lately."

"I'm surprised you lasted so long with just flirting," David spoke up. The three boys were sharing a couch in the senior commons. The room was pretty empty because it was so close to curfew.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Blaine asked.

"I was pretty sure you ended every first date with a kiss," Wes responded. "Haven't you and Kurt been on like three already?"

"Kurt's different," Blaine shrugged.

"You do realize that the three months don't start until Kurt actually agrees to be your boyfriend, right?" David asked.

"I know. And don't worry. I'll have Kurt being my boyfriend soon enough."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Wes looked at Blaine. "Kurt seems to like you a lot, but I don't think it'll be that easy for you."

"Just you wait, Wesley." Blaine told him confidently. "I'll have Kurt Hummel as my boyfriend soon enough."

David scoffed. "You know, when I see the two of you together sometimes, I wonder if you're starting to feel something for him."

"What?"

"He's right," Wes added. "The way you look so happy with him and stuff. Most people think you genuinely like the guy."

"I like him enough," Blaine shrugged. He actually did like Kurt; he was fun to be around with. "He has yet to get boring, that's for sure."

"He's still surprising you?" Wes asked. He remembered how surprised he was when Blaine walked into their room one night and told him that Kurt used to be a cheerleader.

"He hasn't said anything to top the cheerleader thing," Blaine answered. "But I have a feeling he still has a few secrets up his sleeve."

Blaine smiled softly to himself. It took him a few days to find videos that showed Kurt as a cheerleader. The 4 Minutes one kept him captivated, he couldn't stop staring at Kurt in his cheerleading uniform, but the performance from nationals just blew his mind. After that video, he told himself he wouldn't stop until he learned everything he could about the amazing creature that was Kurt Hummel.

-.-.-.-

_I was actually working on this in between paragraphs for my essay, which I finished somewhere between the first three pages of this story. So, that makes three papers finished in just one day. I feel accomplished :D I still have my art projects and two more papers to go, but I'll focus on that tomorrow. Soooo, to celebrate, and to thank you guys for all the support and helping me get a hundred reviews in just a week, I give you another chapter! :D Hope you liked it. This is my longest chapter yet at 10 pages. Lol. Anyway, thanks for reading!_

_Don't forget to review and tell me what you think :D_


	8. Chapter 8

_I know I've said this a bunch of times already, but thank you guys so much for the alerts/favorites/reviews. They really do mean a lot._

_I know I haven't put a disclaimer up in a while, but I think that by now, everyone knows that I'm making no money off of this. It is fanfiction after all. I watched the teaser for the next episode on YouTube and though I'm not a big of JB, I really can't wait to hear Sam sing it. He's got a great voice. And, angry birds FTW! Hahaha. I just had to throw that in there. That really is an awesome app. _

-.-.-.-

"Nervous?" Blaine smiled at Kurt.. They were standing in front of the school, waiting for the bus that was going to take them to sectionals.

"Just a little," Kurt admitted. "I'm going against my old team. It feels weird."

"We'll be great, _you'll_ be great. We've perfected this routine and we're bound to win."

"I guess I have mixed feeling about all of this," Kurt admitted as he watched the bus pull up to the front of the school.

"Why?" Blaine moved to get in line with the rest of the boys and Kurt followed him. "We've been working so hard for this. Everyone wants to win. And, it's not like your old team will be mad at you for playing against them. Didn't you say they were the ones who encouraged you to join the Warblers in the first place?"

"I know, and I _want_ to win," Kurt followed Blaine up the steps of the bus and took seat across the aisle from Wes and David. "But winning means New Direction will lose."

"That's usually how these things work," Blaine remarked. "But, I'm sure it'll be fine. Sure, they'll be disappointed, but for those of them who aren't seniors, there's always next year."

"That's the thing, though. There won't _be_ a next year if they don't win this."

"What?"

"Lima isn't exactly filled with the richest people," Kurt began to explain. "All the clubs and teams at McKinley sometimes have to put up a fight for their budgets. And last year, the principal wanted to cut glee club and give our budget to the Cheerios because the Cheerios were national champions and brought the school good publicity. Our director, , managed to convince the principal to give us a chance.

"They struck a deal; New Directions has to win sectionals, and glee club stays. That's why we had to put together a last minute performance last year. The Cheerios coach, Sue Sylvester, wanted to sabotage glee club so she gave the other teams our set list."

Blaine saw Wes and David looking at them from the corner of his eyes. They were obviously listening in on their conversation. The three boys shared a look. The more they heard about McKinley from Kurt, the more grateful they were that Dalton wasn't like that.

"But, you guys won, so glee club stayed, right?" Blaine asked. The look on Kurt's face, however, told him otherwise.

"Not exactly, the principal changed the conditions of the deal." Kurt looked bitter at this. "We don't exactly have proof, but we all think that Ms. Sylvester had something to do with it. But anyway, he changed it so that we had to place at regionals in order for the club to stay. We were so devastated when we lost because glee club really changed all of us for the better, and that was the end of it. But then, something happened, and they gave New Directions another year. So, if they don't win sectionals and move on to regionals this year, then that's it for the club."

"Kurt," Wes spoke up. Kurt looked surprised; he probably hadn't realized that Wes and David were listening to them. "I feel bad that your club has to go through that, but I hope you understand that you have to be at your best up on stage later."

"What? Oh, of course I will!" Kurt answered quickly. "Even though I don't want New Directions to get disbanded, I still want to win this. And besides, they'll never forgive me if I don't give it my best shot up there."

-.-.-.-

"I'm going to go walk around outside for a bit," Kurt told Blaine after the Warblers got settled in their green and ran through their warm-ups.

"Want me to come with you?" Blaine looked up from a conversation he was having with Thad and Jeff.

"No, its fine," Kurt smiled. "I'm kind of hoping that I'll bump into someone from New Directions."

"Alright then," Blaine smiled up at him. "I'll get you when we have to take our seats."

"Thanks."

Kurt waved told David where he was going and walked out of the green room. He saw a lot of people entering the auditorium to get some seats. He felt his nerves bubbling in his chest, but it was a good kind of nervous. He loved performing in front of people and it always brought a certain thrill with him. He looked at his phone, hoping that one of his old friends had sent him a message, but the screen showed nothing.

He would be lying if he said he wasn't disappointed. He had hoped that they would have at least sent him a good luck message, even if they were competing against each other. But, the only message he got today was from his dad, who bid him good luck and apologized for not being able to make it. He had, however, reassured Kurt that he told Mr. Shue to film the entire thing so he and Carole could watch Kurt and the Warblers and Finn with New Directions.

Kurt walked over to the concession stand and smiled when he heard a familiar voice shouting at the people behind the counter. Almost immediately, his eyes spotted Rachel leaning over the counter, a furious expression on her face as she shouted at the man to go to a nearby store and get some candy.

"Carb-loading?" Kurt asked with a small smile. Rachel spun on her heel and spotted Kurt.

"Puck got Lauren Zizes to take your place," Rachel explained. Kurt felt his eyes widened as he remembered the rather large girl from the AV club. "And she won't go on unless she gets her damn candy!"

Kurt laughed softy at the distressed expression on Rachel's face. He gestured over to some nearby chairs and he and Rachel took a seat.

"So, how's everyone?" Kurt asked as soon as they sat down. Though he had talked to Mercedes and Rachel on the phone a few times, he hadn't seen or talked to any of the other members of his glee club. And seeing Rachel in front of him just made him realize how much he missed them.

"I don't even know where to start," Rachel rolled her eyes. "I'm starting to think it's a New Directions' tradition to have so much drama before a competition."

"There isn't another baby, is there?" Kurt asked with mock seriousness.

"No, nothing like that." Rachel said dismissively. "Everyone's just upset over something or another."

"Oh?" Kurt found himself missing his old team even more. He liked that the Warblers had little to no problems at all, but the drama that came with New Directions always made everything interesting.

"For one, I don't have a solo." Rachel said sourly.

"What?" This was news to Kurt. "Rachel Berry without a solo for sectionals? That's absurd! Maybe this 2012 stuff is real after all."

"Oh, shut up," Rachel smacked Kurt playfully and laughed a little and she leaned forward to hug him before turning serious again. "Last week, Mr. Shue walks in and started going on about how the advantage we have over the competition was that we could dance. So he wants to feature Brittany and Mike. And he decided that Ken and Barbie should sing a duet."

"Ken and Barbie?" Kurt had to think about this for a while. "Oh! You mean Sam and Quinn?"

"Yup."

"Well, I'm sure it won't be too bad," Kurt said slowly. He knew how touchy Rachel could get about not getting solos and didn't want to say anything that would upset her further. "So, how's Finn? I feel awful. I haven't talked to him since I left for Dalton."

"I haven't talked to him much lately," Rachel admitted sadly. "I found out he and Santana were romantically involved and he lied to me about it."

"Wait, you didn't know about that?" Rachel looked like she was about to say something, but then a bell rang and the lights started to flash. Blaine walked up to them and put a hand on Kurt's shoulder.

"Kurt, they're calling places." Blaine turned to Rachel and gave her a smile.

"It was nice seeing you Rachel," Kurt smiled down at her as he stood up from his seat. "Tell everyone I said good luck."

"You, too." Rachel called after them as he walked away with Blaine.

"Everything alright over there?" Blaine asked as they made their way to the greenroom where everyone was making sure that their ties were tied properly.

"Just a little pre-competition drama," Kurt answered as he re-adjusted his tie.

"Are they worried about being disbanded?" David asked, causing a few of the Warblers around him to give him confused looks.

"No, I think that's the last thing on their minds right now," Kurt answered offhandedly.

"Why?" Wes sounded thoroughly surprised. Kurt realized that if the Warblers were in that position, Wes would probably be having a nervous breakdown now.

"I'm not sure," Kurt shrugged and help Blaine straighten his tie. "Rachel said she just found out her boyfriend had sex with Santana, another member of the club, last year. But, I guess that isn't much compared to what happened at last year's sectionals."

"The thing about your set list being stolen?" Samuel asked.

"No. Last year, Finn was dating Quinn and she got pregnant and told him it was his baby, when it was actually Puck's. The day before sectionals, Finn found out that Quinn was lying to him this whole time and he and Puck got into this huge fight in the choir room."

"You're kidding," Samuel's voice was laced with disbelief.

"New Directions is like a horrible day time soap opera." Kurt and the rest of the Warblers began filing out of the green room and heading for their seats in the auditorium.

"I'm starting to see the upside to going to an all boys' school," Blaine told Kurt as they took their seats.

"But," Kurt pointed out. "There was a never a boring day last year."

The two boys stopped talking when the curtains rose and a bunch of old people started singing. Kurt watched them with mild interest. For a bunch of old people, they were pretty good. After they finished performing and the audience broke into applause, Kurt and the rest of the Warblers hurried out of their seats to go backstage and get into their places.

"You'll be fine, Kurt," Blaine gave his hand a reassuring squeeze as the boys all got into their formation. Kurt could hear the voices on the other side of the curtain and felt the nervousness and excitement building up in his chest.

As soon as the curtain rose, Blaine gave them all the silent signal to begin. Kurt sang his part flawlessly. He chanced a peak at the audience and saw Finn and Rachel smiling up at him. As they turned to face the audience, Kurt glanced at his old team.

Finn and Rachel were smiling at him. Brittany and Santana waved at him when he caught their eye. Mercedes smirked when Blaine walked up to him and sang the part about his mind being blown right at Kurt. Mike, Tina, and Artie were dancing slightly in their seats to the music while Lauren sat next to them and looked bored. Sam and Quinn were whispering into each other's ears and smiling slightly as they watched the performance. Puck looked up at the stage with a small glare and this caught Kurt by surprise. Was he upset at him for being part of the opposing team? Kurt realized that his distress was probably showing on his face, because the next thing he knew, Rachel was silently telling him to smile.

Kurt smiled and made sure that the smile was on his face throughout the rest of their song. When they finished, a wide grin erupted on his face when he saw Rachel jump out of her seat and clapped. She was quickly followed by Mercedes and the rest of New Directions, and then the audience.

"We were great out there!" Wes shouted when they were all backstage. Everyone was bumping fists and exchanging high fives.

"Great job out there," Blaine smiled up at Kurt and gave him a tight hug.

"Shouldn't I be telling you that?" Kurt said softly in the other boy's ear as he squeezed back. "After all, you were singing the lead."

"But you still did great," Blaine still had a wide grin on his face when he pulled away. "Your old team seemed happy to see you."

"Except for that guy in the Mohawk," David added. "He looked like he wanted to hit someone."

"That's just his regular face," Kurt rolled his eyes. But, he was silently wondering what was going through Puck's head. Was he angry at them? At him?

The boys all left and went to take their seats. Kurt sat next to Blaine. He said hello to Mr. Shue, who was sitting behind them and got ready to watch his friends. The music started up and Kurt turned in his seat. If he knew Mr. Shue, they were probably coming in from the back. He didn't have to wait long before Sam stepped out and began singing.

"Is that Sam?" Kurt heard Jeff ask from beside him. He nodded and continued to watch as Quinn was the next to make an appearance. "What happened to his hair?"

This caught Kurt's attention. "What?"

"Sam wasn't blonde last year," Jeff explained.

"I knew it!" Blaine gave him a confused look but he just smiled up at him and faced forward because Sam and Quinn were finally on the stage. The curtains finally rose and the rest of New Directions danced onto stage. Kurt smiled fondly as he watched them. They were really good. If Rachel didn't tell him that they were all going through some stuff right now, he never would have thought anything was wrong with all the smiles on each of their faces. Rachel, who had been devastated about not getting a solo, had a wide smile on her face as she sang and danced along with everyone. It was just like them. No matter what they were going through, they always pushed it aside when it came time to perform.

When the first song finished, Kurt was the first one out of his seat. Everyone around him quickly followed as they applauded for the group up on stage. Kurt heard Wes telling David that they were good from in front of him and couldn't help but feel proud of his friends.

Kurt went back to his seat when the next song started. His jaw dropped when he realized that it was Santana singing. He knew that Rachel didn't have a solo, but he never would have guessed that Santana had one. He just assumed that Mr. Shue gave it to Mercedes or Tina. The sense of pride he felt for his friends grew even more when he watched Mike and Brittany dance and flip around the stage. He heard astonished comments from the Warblers around him. For a second, he thought that New Directions were probably going to win this.

-.-.-.-

After a short ten minute intermission, the three competing teams were all standing on stage, waiting for the announcement. Blaine stood in front with Kurt as the announcer started talking about organ donors. He glanced over at Kurt and saw him winking at one of the girls in New Directions. Based on the descriptions he heard from Kurt, that was probably Mercedes.

They announced that the Hipsters were in third place and Blaine could feel the excitement rolling off of the rest of teammates. He waited along with everyone for them to announce the winner and was thoroughly surprised when they told him that they tied. He wasn't expecting that, and from the stunned silence, neither was anyone else.

But, it only took a few seconds for someone in the audience to begin clapping and the Warblers, along with the members of New Directions, began to clap and cheer loudly.

"We won!" He turned to Kurt and pulled the younger boy into another hug.

"We did," Kurt responded with a wide smile.

"Regionals here we come!" David shouted as he threw his arms around Blaine and Kurt's shoulders.

"Kurt," the younger boy looked up at Blaine. Blaine nodded at something behind him and Kurt spun on his heel to see what Blaine was looking at. Blaine had noticed a few of the members of New Directions looking at them and realized that they probably wanted to talk to Kurt. He gave the younger boy a gentle shove forward. He smiled gratefully and walked over to his friends. Blaine watched with a small smile on his face as an Asian girl with blue streaks in her hair and the girl Kurt winked at earlier pulled him into a tight hug, both talking rapidly and excitedly.

This caught the attention of the rest of the group. The rest of the girls ran up to Kurt and they all hugged him. The boys chose to slowly walk up to Kurt, but their smiles were just as big as the girls'. The tallest boy pulled Kurt into a tight hug that lasted a while. Blaine felt a weird twinge in his chest, but it went away when he realized that the tall boy must be Finn, Kurt's step brother. The rest of the boys either patted Kurt on the back or bumped fists with him.

"He looks happy," Jeff commented when he saw where Blaine was looking.

"He always said that those guys were like a family," Blaine responded, though he kept his eyes on Kurt, was laughing along with his friends.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" Jeff sounded timid and this caused Blaine to turn to look at him.

"Sure."

"Are you and Kurt…together?"

"No," Blaine answered honestly. "Why?"

"You know Max, right?" Jeff asked. Blaine nodded; Max was Jeff's roommate. "Well, he and Kurt are lab partners for biology. They don't really see each other outside of class and since I'm in Warblers with him, Max's been asking me about him and stuff.

"Okay?" Blaine had no idea where this way going.

"Anyway, he asked me last night if Kurt was single. I really don't know but you guys are together all the time and I thought that maybe you were dating…"

"Oh," Blaine understood now. "We've gone out a few times, but we're not dating."

"So is it okay if Max asks Kurt out to a movie or something?" Jeff asked awkwardly. Blaine could tell that the only reason he was doing this was to help his friend.

"I rather he doesn't." Blaine answered after a while. "We're not dating or anything, but I want to be. I actually plan on asking out Kurt soon. So…"

"I understand," Jeff said with a small smile. "I'll make sure to tell him."

Blaine watched Jeff leave to go join some of the other boys. That twinge in his chest had come up again when the other boy mentioned his roommate wanting to ask Kurt out.

-.-.-.-

"So how's everything?" Quinn asked when they all left the stage. The Warblers and New Directions were in the lobby now. It was raining outside so they were waiting for it to stop before they went out to their respective busses.

"It's great," Kurt smiled at the blonde girl. "It took a little getting used to, but it's all great. You!"

Sam's eyes widened when Kurt turned to him with an accusing glare. "Yes?"

"A little birdie told me that you weren't blonde last year," Kurt said with a triumphant smirk on his face.

"So you did dye your hair?" Artie asked. The rest of the group began laughing and teasing Sam, while he blushed like crazy.

"I'm going to go say hi to some of the guys," Sam rolled his eyes and stood up from his seat and went over to the Warblers.

"So, they're all nice to you over there?" Finn asked after the laughter died down. Kurt felt his heart swell at the protective tone in his new brother's voice.

"Everyone's great," Kurt responded.

"You sure?" Puck asked. "Because you know you can tell us if anyone is giving you a hard time. I'm not afraid of kicking some prep school ass."

There was a loud chorus of yeah's from the rest o the boys. Kurt smiled fondly at each of them. "Guys, really, everyone is so nice there."

"Has Blaine asked you out yet?" Mercedes asked all of a sudden. This caused a lot of surprised questions from everyone except Rachel.

"Who's Blaine?" Tina asked.

"Was it that guy who sang the lead?" Mike asked. Everyone turned to Kurt, waiting for an answer. Kurt blushed slightly and nodded.

"I knew he was looking at you funny!" Puck spoke up, catching Kurt by surprise. "Mike and I noticed that he kept sing certain lines right at you."

"You have a boyfriend now?" Finn asked. "Does Burt know?"

"Guys!" Kurt shouted to be heard over his friends' frantic talking and questioning. "I don't have a boyfriend."

"But you like him," Santana said with a knowing smirk. Kurt's blush was enough of an answer for everyone. The girls broke out into excited squeals and began pestering Kurt for details.

"Well, if he ever does anything to hurt you," Puck spoke up, causing the girls to stop. "You know who to call."

"Yeah," Finn agreed whole heartedly.

Kurt felt touched by his words. Puck used to be one of his regular tormentors, but he's been extra protective of Kurt since he found out about Karofsky; so has Finn. Kurt then realized that the two boys were trying to make up for all their past bullying by helping him out now. Kurt laughed softly and pulled Finn and Puck into a hug. Puck was shocked at first, but awkwardly hugged him back, causing a loud chorus of awww's to erupt from everyone. Puck pulled away and glared at all of them.

"I think everyone's getting ready to leave," Kurt said when he noticed that all the Warblers began to stand up. Everyone looked out to the windows and saw that the rain had stopped.

"We should get outside," Mr. Shue walked up to them. "The bus driver went out to get the bus."

Kurt stood and followed his friends because his teammates were heading in that direction, too. He bid them goodbye and walked over to where Blaine was standing with Wes and David. The three were talking about something, but they stopped as soon as Kurt reached them.

"Did you have fun talking to your friends?" Blaine asked. Wes and David smiled him.

"Yeah, I missed them so much," Kurt answered. He noticed the odd looks they had given him and how they had all stopped abruptly when he arrived and couldn't help but wonder if they had been talking about him.

The thought was pushed out of his mind when the bus for McKinley drove up. Some of the Warblers moved out of the way as the members of New Directions moved forward to wait for the bus.

"Baby!" Kurt turned around just in time to catch a tall blonde in his arms. He smiled down at Brittany.

"Yes, boo?" Kurt asked with a small smile on his face. He saw Blaine, Wes, and David giving him confused looks.

"Are you going to come back home any time soon?" Brittany asked. She kept her arms wrapped around Kurt's neck. "Seeing you again made me realize that I really miss you."

"Aww," Kurt squeezed the blonde fondly. "I'll come home next weekend,"

"Promise?" Brittany asked sweetly.

"I promise."

"Good," Brittany said with smile. "Because my cat's been reading my diary again and I need you to talk to him."

Kurt laughed at the strange looks the three Warblers gave his blonde friend. He looked over Brittany's shoulder and noticed that Artie had already made it onto the bus and everyone was getting on. "It looks like you should get going."

"Yeah," Brittany said sadly as she finally unwound her arms from around Kurt.

"Oh, don't look so sad," Kurt told her softly. "I'll see you soon."

"Okay!" Brittany's face brightened slightly. "I'll see you soon then. Call me sometime, okay? I love you, baby!"

"I love you too, boo." Kurt waved as the girl practically skipped off to her bus.

"Kurt…" Blaine said slowly. Kurt raised his eyebrows in question but whatever Blaine had to say was interrupted by the arrival of their bus.

-.-.-.-

_I woke up with all these ideas in my head and I knew I just had to type them all down before I forgot them. I'll work on my two papers later :D Oh, procrastination. It's a habit I just can't break. Especially when writing this story is much more fun than reaction papers. Haha._

_Anyway, I'm sure some of you have noticed that I've been using some of your suggestions into the story. Keep them coming! It actually helps me write faster sometimes because it gives me something to work with. I have yet to reach a writer's block because of you guys._

_Hope you enjoyed it. I typed this up real quick so I apologize for any typos I've made. Now I have to get showered and changed real quick and get my but to school. Hopefully, I'll come home to some new reviews :D haha._

_Happy valentines to all of you who happen to be in my part of the world :D _


	9. Chapter 9

_Thanks for the reviews/alerts/favorites, everyone :) _

_Note: I'm sure all of you have noticed by now that this is pretty AU. But, I do try to keep it following the episodes, as you saw with the Teenage Dream scene and a bit from sectionals. I do, however, give it all my own twist so it fits the story line better._

_Warnings: This is slash (Obviously)._

-.-.-.-

_Was that Kurt's girlfriend?_ Blaine looked down at the text he got from David. They were all on the bus back to Dalton. Blaine was sitting in the same place he had been when they left school, but Kurt was currently talking to Nick, who sat in the seat in front of them. From the bits of the conversation Blaine could hear, they were talking about Sam. His phone buzzed again with a text from Wes.

_I thought you said he was gay._

_He told me he came out last year and that he was picked on for being gay._ Blaine tapped the message out n his phone and sent it. He saw David reading it over Wes's shoulder. David said something to Wes, whose fingers flew across his phone.

_What if he's bi? I mean, he and that girl seemed really comfortable with each other._ Blaine read the message with a tight smile on his face. That never occurred to him. He thought it over and realized that Kurt being bi was possible. But, was that his girlfriend? And if it were, why did he agree to go on all those dates?

That twinge he's been feeling lately came back in full force. What was that anyway? A small part of his brain told him it was jealousy, but he had nothing to be jealous about. Maybe he was just upset that Kurt having a girlfriend sets him back on this bet thing? But, that doesn't explain why he felt it when Jeff told him about Max. He had nothing to be jealous of there. What did this feeling mean? Did it mean that

Or did he just like Kurt as a friend? He's never really had a gay—or was it bi?—friend before. Wes and David are great, but there are certain things he can talk about with Kurt that he can't with his two best friends.

"You've been quiet lately," Kurt's voice stopped the onslaught of questions in Blaine's head.

Blaine smiled at Kurt and was about to answer but was interrupted by his phone going off. Wes texted him back: _Why don't you ask him?_

"Who are you texting?" Kurt asked curiously.

"My mom," Blaine lied smoothly. He heard David snort from beside him but ignored him. "She was just congratulating me on the win."

"That's good," Kurt smiled. Blaine noticed that the smile hadn't left Kurt's face since they left the competition.

"I don't think I've ever seen you smile so much," Blaine commented. He tried to think of a way to bring up the blonde girl from earlier.

"I guess it's all the hype of winning," Kurt said with a shrug, though the smile was still there.

"Or you sure that's it?" Blaine thought. "It's not because of seeing a certain blonde dancer?"

"Blonde dan…Oh! You mean Brittany?"

"Yeah, Brittany," Blaine kept a smile on his face even though his chest constricted at the happy glint in Kurt's eyes when he said her name.

"Well, she does make me happy," Kurt responded. "She never fails to make me laugh."

This time Blaine knew he was feeling jealous. He loved Kurt's laugh and had always gone out of his way to hear it. Making Kurt laugh was a lot harder than he thought it was. The fact that this Brittany girl could do it so easily angered him.

"Is she your…girlfriend?" Blaine asked slowly. In his peripheral vision, he saw Wes and David trying not to look like they were listening…and failing.

"What? Girlfriend?" Kurt stared at him in disbelief. "I'm gay, remember? As in…I like guys."

"Oh," Kurt's tone made Blaine feel like an idiot. He blushed slightly and grinned at the other boy sheepishly. "It's just that she threw herself into your arms and called you 'baby'. And you called her 'boo'. And then the 'I love you' before she left. I just thought that…"

Kurt laughed. "Well, I do love her. But it's not a romantic kind of love."

"What makes you so sure?" Blaine teased. His chest felt a little lighter now.

"We dated last year," Kurt smirked, obviously knowing that this was going to throw Blaine off.

"What? You just said you were gay."

"I was going through a phase," Kurt shrugged.

"Was that before you came out?"

"No, actually," Kurt chucked a little and Blaine just felt more confused than ever. "My dad was spending a lot of time with Finn, and I got a little jealous and I thought he was spending more time with him instead of me because he was straight and everything. So I dated Brittany to try and get him to notice me."

"How did that go?"

"It was the most horrible week of my life," Kurt answered with a small laugh. "Brittany's nice and all but she isn't exactly my type. And, my clothing choice was just horrendous."

"Are you going to talk to her cat?" David couldn't help but ask. Wes and David laughed along with Kurt.

"What was that about anyway?" Wes asked.

"Brittany's convinced that he cat reads her diary when she's at school."

"So you're going to lecture a cat about respecting other people's privacy?" Blaine could almost picture Kurt kneeling before a cat and giving it a stern talking to.

"I'll just buy her Barbie's Volkswagen or whatever it is and hope that she'll be too busy trying to teach Barbie how to drive that she forgets all about the cat."

"You can't be serious," Blaine looked at the Kurt's face but saw no sign of humor.

"She's a little…unique," Kurt said softly. "But she's great to be around."

"I can only imagine…"

-.-.-.-

Blaine knocked on Kurt's door on Sunday afternoon the week after sectionals. Kurt had gone home right after classes ended on Friday like he promised Brittany and got back early this morning. But, Blaine had yet to see him. Blaine smiled widely when Kurt answered the door.

"Blaine! Come on in," Kurt moved aside to allow Blaine to get in the room.

"How was your weekend?" Blaine asked.

"It was great," Kurt said with a wide smile. "I had so much fun. I kind of wish Dalton wasn't so far from home."

"Well, you can always go home on the weekends," Blaine sat on Kurt's bed. He saw books and papers scattered all over the desk Kurt sat at. "And, Christmas break is only a month away."

"Yeah, there's that. So what have you been up to all weekend?"

"Nothing," Blaine shrugged. "Just hanging out with the guys; nothing too exciting."

"Ah, so what brings you to my neck of the woods?"

"A bunch of the guys are going to hang out and watch movies in the senior commons. I wanted to see if you wanted to come."

"I don't know," Kurt looked unsure. "I have a history test tomorrow."

"Study tonight," Blaine stood up and walked right in front of Kurt. "You can't spend the entire day locked in your room trying to memorize dates."

Blaine grabbed Kurt's hand and pulled him up. Kurt, who wasn't expecting it, stumbled forward and right into Blaine. Blaine's hands instinctively went up to catch Kurt, so he now held the slender boy to his chest. Kurt looked up at Blaine and the older boy realized that Kurt was within kissing distance yet again.

Kurt's lips were parted slightly and his cheeks were a faint pink because he stumbled. Blaine couldn't help but think how adorable and _kissable_ Kurt looked like that. If he bothered to think about it, he would have thought back to how odd Kurt reacted when Blaine tried to kiss him the first time. But, he acted without thinking. He leaned forward to kiss the boy.

His lips made contact—it was a feather light touch, barely even there—when Kurt suddenly pushed him away. Blaine stumbled and had to hold onto the chair beside them to stop himself from falling over. Kurt had that scared look in his eyes again, though it wasn't as bad as the first time.

"Oh my god, Blaine I'm so sorry!" Kurt exclaimed.

"No, I'm sorry," Blaine said quickly. Kurt's eyes were glassed over and he looked like he was going to hyperventilate.

"I—I shouldn't have done that," Kurt said quickly. "I'm so sorry! I don't know what came over me. I just—I didn't—you just—it was out of nowhere—after what Karofsky—I shouldn't—I'm _so_ sorry."

"Kurt! Slow down, breathe," Blaine reached out and put his hands on the other boy's shoulders. Kurt had started rambling and Blaine couldn't make out half of the things he said."

"I'm so sorry," Kurt said in a voice barely above a whisper. He looked down at his feet.

"It's alright," Blaine pulled Kurt into a comforting hug. He had felt a brief flash of hurt when Kurt pushed him away, but he was glad when Kurt returned the hug. "It's okay, really."

"I just…" Kurt pulled away and looked at Blaine. "I'm sorry I acted that way. I couldn't help it."

"Kurt, really, it's okay," Blaine looked straight into Kurt's eyes and did his best to make sure his eyes showed Kurt that this didn't bother him.

"I'm still sorry," Kurt said with a small pout that had Blaine chuckling.

"Just know that it's okay. But, who's Karofsky?"

"What?" The color drained from Kurt's face and his mouth opened and closed, as if he had no idea what to say.

"You mentioned that name earlier, who is that?" Blaine took Kurt's hand and led him to the bed. He had started shaking and he looked like he was about to collapse.

"He—he was one of the guys who used to bully me," Kurt said in a weak voice. "He was the main reason I transferred."

"I—I'm sorry. But, why did you mention his name?" Blaine moved closer to the still trembling boy and wrapped a comforting arm around his shoulders. Kurt leaned into the touch and buried his face into Blaine's neck.

"Last year," Kurt started in a shaky voice, "he was just another jock who pushed me around. He threw slushies at me, threw me into dumpsters, threw pee balloons at me, and I think he was part of the group that nailed my lawn furniture to my roof."

"What?" Blaine tightened his grip on Kurt's shoulders. He knew about the slushies and the dumpsters, but this was the first he heard about the pee balloons and the furniture thing.

"Yeah," Kurt's arms snaked out and wrapped tightly around Blaine's waist. "Then this year, it got worse. He got more physical. He would push me into the lockers whenever he passed by me in the halls. He did it before but now he did it every single time. Then, one day, I snapped and confronted him about it in the boy's locker room. We were the only ones in there. Then he—he—"

Kurt's arms tightened around him and Blaine had no idea what he was going to do. He could feel Kurt's body shaking. He pulled the Kurt closer and rubbed comforting circles on his back. "What did he do, Kurt?"

"He k-kissed me," Kurt managed to stammer out.

At first, Blaine was too shocked to do anything. He sat there numbly as his brain tried to process the words. And then, when it finally all sunk in, he saw red. His arms tightened around Kurt protectively as he glared daggers at the opposite wall. He wanted nothing more than to hit someone, preferably that Karofsky guy. But then, he felt an odd wetness on his neck and realized that Kurt was crying. He almost instantly calmed his anger and hurried to comfort the boy in his arms.

"Kurt," Blaine moved away and placed his arms on Kurt's shoulders. He bit his lip. He had something he needed to ask Kurt, but he was almost afraid to do it. He took a deep breath and looked at Kurt's tear stained face. "Did he do anything else to you after he kissed you?"

"N-no," Kurt shook his head as a few more tears leaked out of his eyes. "He tried to kiss me again but I pushed him away and he ran off."

A wave of relief washed over Blaine. He reached out and pulled Kurt against him once more. "Good."

-.-.-.-

_So, I actually wanted to add more to this because, oddly enough, I felt that it was too short compared to my last chapters. It's like half the usual length. Lol. But, adding anymore didn't seem to fit with this chapter. So I ended it here. I hope its quality makes up for its quantity, or lack thereof though. Thanks for reading :D Don't forget to tell me what you think :D_


	10. Chapter 10

_You know how I've been keeping this slightly parallel to the show? I realized that at the rate I'm going, it won't be long before I catch up to the show. So, I'll either have to slow down with the updates to keep up with the show. Or stop following the show so much (but, truth be told, I actually like following the show, it gives me something to work with. Lol) Or, there's a third option of stretching things out a little. Maybe multiple chapters about whatever I feel like in the one week gap between new episodes. But, it really all depends on how things progress. Usually, I have an idea for how to start a chapter, and then when I type it up, I usually just let my mind go and type whatever. I don't actually have an outline for this story. I know how it starts and how it ends, but I'm a little fuzzy with the in between. I don't mind doing the multiple chapters between episodes thing, it just might make this story a little long and I know I get a little hesitant when it come to reading long stories. What do you guys think?_

_Aaaand, sorry about that long rambling note thing. If you actually took the time to read all of that, you guys are awesome! Haha. _

_And one last thing, though you can totally skip over this: Am I the only one who thinks that sometimes, Rachel's mouth looks a little odd when she sings? Sometimes, it's just fine and all, but there are times where it's obvious (at least it is to me) that she's lip-syncing because she smiles way too much or opens her mouth too wide. I'm pretty sure that's not a normal singing face. It could just be me. Lol. This question came up because I was re-watching my favorite episodes of season one. Though I skipped through most of the cheesy drama stuff and went to the performances. But, what never fails to make me laugh: "Comb through the hair, slap the butt" Haha. Oh, and "Mr. Shue, is he your son?" Don't ask me why because I can't explain it to you. Maybe I'm just odd like that. _

-.-.-.-

"Why aren't you with Kurt?" David asked when Blaine walked into the senior commons on Friday night.

"Yeah, you guys have been attached practically at the hip the past couple of weeks," Wes looked up from the television screen.

"He went home for the weekend again," Blaine responded as he sat down beside his two best friends.

"Have you asked him out yet?" Wes asked.

"No, not yet," Blaine shook his head with a small frown on his face. He had originally planned to ask Kurt out last week, but after he told him about the situation with that Karofsky guy, he couldn't bring himself to do it.

"It's been over a month now and you still haven't made a move." David commented.

"I'll get to it, don't worry."

"But it isn't exactly fair for us if we give you an unlimited amount of time to do this," Wes turned away from the screen and faced Blaine.

Blaine looked around to make sure that no one was listening to them. Luckily, the room was almost empty because most of the boys had either gone home for the weekend, or are spending their Friday night out somewhere.

"I propose a time restraint," David announced.

"What? But we already agreed on the bet. You can't add restrictions _now." _Blaine protested.

"Yeah, but if we give you as long as you want then it won't be fair for us, and it could go on forever." Blaine had to agree with Wes's point there.

"Okay, so how long do I have?"

"Hmm, April?" David suggested.

"You have until Spring break to complete the three months," Wes confirmed. "It's only the first week of December. That should give you more than enough time if you ask him out soon."

"Fine," Blaine said reluctantly. He had been so excited about the challenge the bet offered him in the beginning, but now, he wasn't so sure. He didn't want to hurt Kurt. He actually liked Kurt; if the circumstances had been different, they would probably have been very good friends. But, he could give up on any thoughts of friendship now because there was no way Kurt was going to talk to him again after he broke off their soon to be established relationship. Blaine's seen enough friendships end because of a relationship to know what was going to happen.

Also, Kurt's been through so much already. Although, sometimes, Kurt seemed so detached and cold; it was as if all his past experiences didn't faze him anymore. If Blaine had been in his position, he would probably have been suffering from severe depression right now. But Kurt, he was strong. Whenever Blaine asked him about how bad the bullying at his school was, Kurt would talk about it with the same voice a person might use to describe a movie they saw the night before. The only time Kurt seemed affected by anything was when he talked about Karofsky. But, if you had to go through something like that, it would only make sense to be upset.

A small part of Blaine hoped that when they broke up, he and Kurt could still be friends. It might be awkward at first, but surely they could make it work. Since Blaine knew he wasn't going to get emotionally attached in this, he knew that it would be fine on his end. Kurt may have a hard time with it at first, but the boy seemed resilient and could probably bounce back. Blaine smiled triumphantly at the plan he had cooked up. He would make sure Kurt never knew about this bet. And then after the three months are up, he would tell Kurt that he cared for him, but a relationship wasn't going to work out between them. Then, after Kurt got over it, they could go back to being friends. This could work.

-.-.-.-

"Hey, are you going home this weekend?" Blaine looked up from the book he had been reading. He and Kurt were doing their homework in the library.

"No," Kurt answered, "Finals are in two weeks and I have a bunch of projects to do. I'm going to stay here so I can get some work done. I get too distracted whenever I go home."

"How do you feel about a short 3-4 hour distraction?" Blaine asked after a while.

Kurt raised an eyebrow. "I guess that wouldn't be too bad. Why?"

"I have tickets to see the _West Side Story_ at the community theater in town. I was wondering if you'd like to go with me."

"I'd love to," Kurt smiled. Even though Blaine had been hugging him and holding his hand more since he told him about Karofsky, they hadn't gone out to anything that would be considered a date. Kurt had started to worry that he had scared Blaine away.

"Great," Blaine grinned and Kurt's heart fluttered happily. "I've actually never seen the play before."

"Really? You haven't?" Kurt put down the pencil he had been toying with.

"No, I mean, I know what it's about. I've read it before. But I've never actually seen it."

"It's pretty much a modern day Romeo and Juliet story with gangs and whatnot," Kurt said after a while. "But it's a great play."

"What's a great play?" Kurt turned in his seat to see Wes and David standing behind him.

"_West Side Story_," Blaine answered.

"Is that the one about the two gangs?" David asked as he pulled out the chair next to Kurt and took a seat. Wes sat next to Blaine.

"You guys are going to see it?" Wes asked when Kurt nodded to answer David's question.

"Yeah, this Friday," Kurt answered. He and Blaine shared a smile.

"Cool! Mind if we come along?" David asked. Kurt saw Blaine give David a weird look.

"Yeah, it sounds like fun," Wes added.

"I didn't think you two were the type to watch plays," Kurt commented slowly.

"We're broadening our horizons," Wes answered with a wide grin. "And I'm up for seeing an epic gang fight."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "It's more than just two gangs fighting."

"Whatever," David shrugged. "So what time are you heading out? Oh! We should all take one car."

"Sure, I guess," Blaine was giving Wes and David weird looks and didn't look like he was going to speak up any time soon, so Kurt decided to take something. "But whose car are we going to take?"

"We can take mine," Wes offered.

"Great!" David grinned widely.

"So why did you come here?" Blaine finally spoke up. "I'm pretty sure you guys didn't come here to study."

"We came here to fetch you guys, actually." David shrugged.

"Yeah," Wes nodded. "You've been in here since classes ended. Two hours of homework should be more than enough."

"We can't all be smart like you, Wesley," Blaine rolled his eyes and Kurt smiled at him.

"One, don't call me Wesley," Wes said in a stern voice he only used during Warblers' practice. "And two, you guys need a break, too much studying will turn your brains to mush. And, the Buckeyes are playing tonight and we're all going to watch it in the commons."

"Really?" Blaine's eyes seemed to light up.

"The Buckeyes?" Kurt recognized that name as the Ohio State football team that his dad and Finn loved to watch.

"I'm a huge fan," Blaine admitted.

"What are we still doing here?" David asked loudly, causing the librarian to shush him. He mumbled a quick apology and turned back to the other three boys. "Let's go before the game starts.

Kurt rolled his eyes, but followed nonetheless. He really wasn't interested in watching the game, but watching it was better than describing all the phases of mitosis.

-.-.-.-

"Bored?" Blaine asked Kurt a few minutes into the game. He could tell that Kurt wasn't interested in the game; he had his phone out and was busy playing some game that involved birds and green pigs. He didn't exactly look like the type who liked football; he probably didn't understand much of the game.

"I've never been too interested in football," Kurt admitted.

"Do you want me to explain the rules to you?" Blaine offered. "It might be a little more fun if you understood what was going on."

"No, I know the rules."

"You do?" That took Blaine by surprise. But then, he remembered that Kurt's step brother was on the football team. "Oh, because of your brother?"

"Nope," Kurt's fingers flicked swiped across his phone. He seemed really focused on his game. "I was on the football team for a while last year."

"You were on the football team?" Blaine's jaw dropped to the ground. He stared at Kurt flabbergasted. He didn't even notice when the Buckeyes made a touchdown and all the boys in the room cheered.

"Mhmm," Kurt glared at his phone. Blaine glanced down and saw the words 'level failed'.

"Like, a real football team?"

"Is it so hard to believe?" Kurt looked up from his phone and raised an eyebrow at Blaine. He had a small smirk on his face.

"Aren't you a little…small to be on a football team?" Wes asked from beside Kurt. He had heard Blaine's last question and gave Kurt a look that clearly said he didn't believe a word he said.

"Just because I'm smaller than all the meatheads on the football team doesn't mean I'm fragile," Kurt sounded slightly offended. "And, I was the kicker."

"I'll believe it only I if I see proof." Wes said firmly.

"Fine then," Kurt glanced back down at his phone. Blaine saw him opening the Facebook application. Blaine and Wes exchanged confused looks as Kurt looked through some photos.

"Aha!" Kurt said triumphantly. He held his phone out to Wes. Blaine saw Wes's eyes bug out. Blaine wanted to see what Kurt was showing him. After Wes returned the phone, Kurt handed it to Blaine so he could see.

Blaine took the phone and saw that Kurt had pulled up a picture. It was a football team all dressed in their uniforms. Blaine looked at all the guys in red uniforms. He stopped when he recognized a familiar face standing in the middle of the boys, next to a man Blaine assumed was their coach. Blaine tapped at the screen so it would zoom in. It was Kurt. Kurt stood in the middle, smiling at the camera, wearing a red and white football uniform.

Blaine wasn't sure which he liked better, Kurt in his cheerleading uniform, or Kurt in his football uniform. Sure, the cheerleading uniform was tight in all the right places and showed off Kurt's body, but Blaine had a thing for masculine guys, and the junior looked gorgeous in that uniform.

"Like what you see?" Kurt said in a teasing voice as he reached for his phone.

"How long were you on the team?" Wes smirked at Blaine from over Kurt's shoulder.

"A couple weeks," Kurt closed the app and went back to his game. "I quit after the first game I played."

"Why?" Blaine asked.

"It really wasn't for me," Kurt said off-handedly. His attention was back on his game. "I only joined because my dad walked in on me and Brittany and Tina dancing to 'Single Ladies' and he didn't know I was gay yet. So we made up this stupid excuse about how it was conditioning exercises and Brittany told him that I was on the football team. So I begged Finn to help me get on."

"Were you any good?" Wes asked out of curiosity.

"I don't know what defines 'good', but the only game the football team won that season was the one I played in. And I scored the winning point or whatever."

Blaine looked at Wes over Kurt's head and saw that the other boy was as shocked as he was. He shook his head and smiled a little. Kurt Hummel really was one interesting boy. With on last glance at the boy, he went back to watching his game.

-.-.-.-.-

Blaine was in a bad mood. When he asked Kurt to watch the play with him, he was hoping that it would just be the two of them. Then they would go out for coffee or ice cream, whichever Kurt wanted, afterwards. Then they would take a walk in the park because it was supposed to be a full moon and bright out that night. Then, underneath the stars, Blaine would ask Kurt to be his boyfriend. It was so cliché that it was bound to work.

But instead, they went in Wes's car. He and David insisted that Kurt take shotgun, so Blaine was forced to sit in the back with David. Then, at the theater, they ended up sitting in between Wes and David. And it was hard to enjoy Kurt's company while sitting between the two boys, who were constantly talking. And, every time Blaine tried to speak with Kurt, Wes, who was on the other side of the junior, would ask him a question about the play.

Afterwards, they went to this diner to get something to eat. There were a bunch of high school kinds in there celebrating their team's victory or something. Kurt froze when he saw the letterman jackets on some of the jocks and Blaine squeezed his hand reassuringly. That was the only real contact Blaine had with the other boy. Then, on the way back to school, Wes David went to the backseat as soon as the door was opened so Kurt went back to the passenger seat next to Wes.

When they got back to the school, Blaine had told his two annoying friends to go on without him so he could walk Kurt to his dorm room. But, of course, the two had decided to follow Blaine. Blaine smiled politely while Kurt joked around with the guys as they walked him to his room, but he was miserable. His supposed best friends had just ruined his date with their imposing. Once Kurt went into his room, he glared at his friends

"What?" David smiled innocently.

"You did that on purpose," Blaine accused. The three went down the hall to make their way to their rooms.

"What makes you think that?" Wes blinked up at him.

"You didn't even pay attention to most of the play!" Blaine scowled. "You just wanted to screw up my date with Kurt."

"That was a date?" Wes asked with mock surprise. Blaine glared at him.

"Well, Kurt said it was okay for us to join," David pointed out. "Obviously, he didn't know it was a date."

"He was just being polite," Blaine grumbled.

"Then ask him out to another date," Wes suggested.

"I had tonight planned out perfectly," Blaine practically whined.

"We're sorry," Wes and David apologized. But, Blaine knew they didn't mean it because of the matching grins on their faces. He just glared at them one last time and opened the door to his room.

-.-.-.-

_And here's another one. Sorry it's short. My cityscape project for art is due tomorrow and I'm still not finished. I can't focus. I'd draw a few lines here and there and then proceed to space out and think about stupid things. Lol. So, I decided to at least be productive and type up a chapter whenever I got tired of drawing. _

_But now, its 2:30 AM and I still have about 12 buildings, a park, and a bunch of streetlights to go. Using two-point perspective is really tedious work. Ugh. Anyway, I'll get back to my work so I can sleep._

_Good morning. Or Night, depending on where you are. _


	11. Chapter 11

_Thanks for all the reviews/favorites/alerts guys. I feel like this is my most successful story yet. _

_Spoiler alert!(possibly) I'm sorry but I just have to say something about the latest episode. Am I the only one who doesn't like Finn right now? I have no idea what's going through his head, but I don't like it. He isn't the adorable clueless idiot he used to be. And I'm not sure how I feel about this Sam/Santana thing, but I do really like Sam. Sam is so making his way up my favorite glee guys list. I still love Mike and Wes though. Gotta show some Asian pride! LOL.(But Blaine and Kurt will always be my favorites) But I really do love them. I found myself enjoying 'Baby' oddly enough. Also, Lauren—I don't know how I feel about her. I like that Puck's having a hard time with a girl, but I just don't like Lauren's attitude sometimes. And the lack of Kurt and Blaine disappoints me. But I dread, and can't wait for, the next episode though. But I love Brittany's lines. She always makes me smile._

-.-.-.-

Blaine had never wanted to hurt Wes and David more than he did now. He hadn't spent any time alone with Kurt all week. Whenever he asked Kurt go do something, he either already had plans with Wes or David, or the two boys somehow found a way to go along with them.

"It's just some friendly competition of sorts," Wes had told him with a small smirk one night. They had been making things hard for him ever since they added that time restraint. "And besides, I could use five hundred dollars."

Blaine shut his physics book with a sigh. Finals were coming up this week. He had a Physics test tomorrow morning and a Calculus one in the afternoon so he had spent the past two hours studying. He stood up from his desk and walked around the room to stretch his legs for a while. After this week was Christmas break. He wouldn't see Kurt for two weeks, so he thought it would be a good idea to ask the boy out before school ended for break. He was still a little bitter that his whole 'asking-Kurt-out-under-the-stars' plan failed, all because of Wes and David. And, he couldn't try to do that again because the weather forecast for the week was nothing but snowfall.

He began a mental list of all the things Kurt liked. He liked coffee and fashion; those were the two things Blaine had noticed from the very beginning. Another thing he knew was that Kurt liked scarves. This, he found out when he was waiting in Kurt's room for the boy to get ready. Kurt had a huge selection of scarves in colors and shades of different kinds. Blaine frowned and shook his head. Giving Kurt some coffee or a fashionable scarf before asking him out would seem like he was trying to bribe him. And, that wasn't romantic at all.

He took a seat on his bed and thought hard, trying to remember all he knew about Kurt. He had known that Kurt loved the stars because he once confessed to Blaine about how he had always wanted to be kissed in the rain or under the stars, no matter how over cliché it was. It was just something you had to do, according to the younger boy. Kurt also seemed to like the snow. He would get a small smile whenever it started to lightly snow outside. But, there was also an almost bittersweet look to that smile that Blaine didn't understand. He'd have to make a note to ask Kurt about it some time.

Kurt loved Broadway and musicals and had a soft spot for _The Sound of Music_. Again, that bittersweet smile was on his face when that he had told Blaine about that. Maybe it had something to do with the snow? Kurt also obviously loved to sing, and he was good at it. Blaine thought back to the first time he officially met Kurt on the stairs. He remembered the look on Kurt's face when he sang _Teenage Dream_ to him and an idea came to him. He'd sing to Kurt! It was the perfect idea. He'd sing a nice little love song to him and then ask him out. Now, all he had to do was find the right song.

-.-.-.-.-

"All of this is starting to look like gibberish to me," Blaine said forlornly. He and Kurt were studying in the junior commons for their French exam tomorrow. Luckily for them, Wes and David had study group for their geography class and weren't going to meet up with them for another hour.

"We've only been studying for half an hour," Kurt glanced up from his textbook. "Less than that, actually."

"But I hate French," Blaine whined. "I'm horrible at it."

"You're doing fine," Kurt rolled his eyes at Blaine's antics.

"Can we take a break?"

"Already?"

"Sure?" Blaine suggested. "And besides, Wes and David are coming by in an hour or so and you're just going to have to repeat this stuff with them. We might as well just wait for them. Please?" Blaine stuck his bottom lip out.

"Oh, fine," Kurt rolled his eyes again. But there was a smile on his lips.

"Hey, it's snowing again," Blaine pointed out. Kurt turned to the window to see that it had begun snowing again. Blaine saw that bittersweet smile on his face again.

"You alright?" He bumped his shoulder against Kurt's slightly.

"Huh?" Kurt turned to him and gave him an adorable confused face. "I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"You looked sad for a moment," Blaine watched him carefully. "I thought you said you liked the snow?"

"I do," Kurt said slowly. "It's just that the snow reminds me of my mom."

"Your mom?" Blaine knew that Kurt's dad got remarried, but he never mentioned anything about his mother before. He had always just assumed that Kurt's parents were divorced.

"She died when I was eight," Kurt explained sadly.

"Oh, Kurt, I'm sorry."

"It's fine," Kurt gave him a small smile. "She loved the snow. I remember, when I was younger, every time it would begin to snow, she would get me all bundled up and then we'd just run around outside under the falling snow. Then, when there was enough snow, we'd make snow angels and snowmen and when my dad came home from the shop, we'd have a snowball fight.

"My mom and I always won," Kurt smiled sadly at the memory. Blaine listened attentively. He could just picture a younger Kurt running around and playing with his parents. The thought made him smile. "Then, when it started to get dark, we'd go inside and have dinner, before my dad made hot chocolate and we went into the living room to watch _The Sound of Music_ before it was time for bed."

Was that why Kurt liked that movie so much? Because it reminded him of his mom? Something clicked in Blaine's mind. "Kurt? Like Kurt von Trapp?"

Kurt laughed softly. "Yeah, he was my mom's favorite character."

"Do you miss her?" Blaine asked after a while.

"All the time," Kurt answered honestly.

"I can't imagine what it would be like without my mom," Blaine offered. He and his mom had always had a very close relationship. His mom was actually the first person he told when he realized he was gay.

"The first few months after she was gone, I still found myself going into the kitchen after school, expecting to see her there with a glass of milk and a plate of cookies so we could talk about my dad." Kurt glanced to the window, his eyes distant as he reflected on the memories he called up. "I missed her like crazy and would always cry whenever something reminded me of her."

"How did you deal with it?"

"My dad helped me deal with it the most," Kurt answered. "The first few months, we would take days off from the shop to spend time with me and do the things my mom used to do with me. It wasn't the same, though. He definitely couldn't bake or cook the same way she did. He almost set the oven on fire the first time he tried to make cookies."

Blaine laughed along with Kurt.

"But," Kurt continued. "As the days went by, it hurt less. I still missed her and I always thought of her, but it didn't hurt as much anymore."

"Oh," Blaine shifted in his seat, unsure of what to say. Kurt, who seemed to sense the awkwardness from Blaine, bumped shoulders with him and smiled at him. Blaine returned the smile.

"Are we interrupting something?" The two boys looked up to see Wes and David behind the couch they were sitting in. They both had their eyebrows raised at the two boys sitting down, but had smirks on their faces.

"No, just having a little chat," Kurt said with a small blush on his face. "Now, hurry and get seated. We have a test to study for."

-.-.-.-.-

Blaine walked through the halls of Dalton. Everyone was either in their dorms or in the library studying for finals. He only had his Literature final tomorrow, and he was confident that he knew all he had to know, so he didn't worry about it too much. David and Wes were both studying for their last finals so Blaine thought this would be the perfect time to talk to Kurt. He had gone to the boy's room but Trent told him that Kurt had left to study in the commons.

Blaine grinned to himself when he saw that Kurt was the only one in the commons. The boy was bent over a history text. He didn't even notice when Blaine walked into the room because he was so focused on his book. Blaine set the small boom box down on a nearby table. Kurt's head shot up in surprise. "Hey."

"You scared me," Kurt sounded a little breathless.

"Good," Blaine took a step forward. "Because I'm actually Marley's ghost and I'm here to tell you to stop studying so hard."

Kurt nodded slowly. "What's with the boom box?"

"I need you to sing with me," Blaine answered. Kurt looked at him confused. "Or, rehearse with me. There's this duet I want to try out and I need someone to sing it with me. So you gonna help me out here?"

"Anything to get me to stop reading about Charlemagne."

"Very good then," Blaine closed Kurt's book and walked over to press play on the boom box. He had spent a few hours trying to find the right song. He figured that it would be a lot more person to sing a song _with_ Kurt instead of _to_ him.

He saw a look of recognition on Kurt's face while he danced over to him and leaned on the back of the couch. He pointed at Kurt to begin.

"_I really can't stay—"_

"_But baby, it's cold outside._" The fact that it was snowing outside was a nice touch. Blaine pushed off from the couch and walked over to Kurt. He raised an eyebrow when Kurt stood up and walked away from him. He saw the playful look on the boy's face and played along and started to follow Kurt around the room.

"_Beautiful, what's your hurry?_" Kurt continued to walk around the room while they sang. Blaine smiled when he realized that it added a nice touch to their song. He also realized that his and Kurt's voice sounded nice together.

"_I ought to say no, no, no sir—"_

"_Mind if I move in closer?"_ Blaine pressed his body up against Kurt's and grinned slightly when he saw Kurt blush lightly. Kurt walked over and sat on the piano bench. Blaine reached over him and pressed the keys in time to the music. Kurt looked up at him in surprise and Blaine realized that he never told Kurt that he played.

Kurt stood and skipped over to the back of the couch. Blaine leaned in front of him and leaned forward. He pouted at Kurt as he sang his line. "_If you got pneumonia and died…"_

As the song came to a close, he gestured for Kurt to sit on the couch. Kurt shook his head playfully and Blaine gestured again. He and Kurt took their seats as they sang the last notes of the song. When they finished, they both had huge grins on their faces. Blaine smiled and looked at Kurt. He had a huge smile on his face and his cheeks look slightly flushed, whether it was from the singing or something else, Blaine didn't know.

"Kurt," Blaine whispered softly.

"Yeah?" He could feel Kurt's breath on his face. The two hadn't moved from their positions yet and their faces were only a couple inches apart.

"I…" His eyes darted down to Kurt's lips and he fought the urge to close the gap between them and kiss him. After Kurt had told him about the lip-rape from that jock at his old school, Blaine didn't try to kiss him again.

"You?" Kurt prompted after he had been silent for a while. He thought Kurt had moved closer to him but he couldn't be too sure. For all he knew, he could have been the one that leaned in closer.

"I know we've only been on a few dates," Blaine said softly as he looked up into Kurt's eyes. "But I really like you."

"I—I like you, too," Kurt admitted shyly.

"Will you be my boyfriend?" Blaine asked softly.

"Yes," Kurt breathed out almost instantly. Blaine smiled. If he knew Kurt was this willing to say yes to him, he probably didn't have to try so hard.

Blaine grinned at him. He leaned forward to kiss him, but then thought better of it. He wasn't sure how Kurt would react. So, right before he should have claimed those soft lips, he moved his head to the side and kissed Kurt on the cheek.

Kurt smiled up at him from under his lashes. He opened his mouth to say something, but the sound of footsteps entering approaching the room caught their attention and they broke apart. Blaine looked up to see an unfamiliar man walk into the room.

"Mr. Shuester!" Kurt stood walked up to the man and hugged him. Blaine recognized the man from sectionals.

Blaine stood up from his seat. It felt weird sitting there while Kurt told the man about how he missed his old glee club. He walked up to the two of them.

"I'll talk to you later, Kurt," Blaine told him with a small grin. Kurt grinned back and nodded. He said a quick hello and made his way to the door so he could give the two some time to talk. He was sure Kurt would come see him after that man left.

As Blaine closed the doors to the commons, he head Kurt's voice. "What brings you here? Are you looking for teaching at a place where pencils aren't primarily used as weapons?"

Blaine shook his head in disbelief. Kurt's old school really was something. As he made his way back up to his room, a small grin started to form on his lips. Kurt was finally his boyfriend.

-.-.-.-.-

_Another short chapter. I'm afraid I may be losing my touch. Lol. Actually, I'm just running on about two hours of sleep. I finished my cityscape; I even passed up lunch to finish working on the details. And, right when I got to class, my teacher tells me that he extended the due date to next Tuesday because he missed a day for a doctor's appointment. UGH! Don't you hate when that happens? Anyway, I'm gonna go knock out til forever now. _

_Hope I didn't do too bad on this though. If it sucks, well, blame it on the lack of sleep. I am, however, proud to have gotten a chapter out despite the lack of sleep. Haha. _

_Anyway, goodnight. Or, good morning if you're on the other side of the world. _


	12. Chapter 12

_I had what felt like the longest, and best, sleep I've had in ages. And it was great waking up to a bunch of emails about reviews/alerts/favorites. You guys are the greatest! Now, on to the story._

-.-.-.-.-

Blaine had made it back to his room when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He pulled it out and smiled when he saw that he had a message from Kurt.

_Where'd you run off to?_ He typed out a quick reply and got up from his bed.

"Where are you going?" Wes asked as he looked up from his notes.

"To my boyfriend," Blaine replied smugly.

"No way!" Wes turned to face Blaine. "You asked him already? When?"

"About fifteen minutes ago?"

"You didn't ask him out through text or something, did you?"

"Of course not; I sang 'Baby, It's Cold Outside' with him then asked him."

"Then you came back up here?" Wes had a look of disbelief on his face.

"Someone from Lima came to see him," Blaine answered as he made his way to the door. "I left to give them time to talk. I'll see you later."

He closed the door when Wes called out a quick goodbye. It won't take long before he told David. Blaine glanced down at his phone and checked the date. It was the 23rd today. So he had until March 23rd before the terms of the bet are fulfilled. He was still going through with his plan to never let Kurt find out about the bet, break up with him, then remain friends. Of course, he wasn't going to break up with Kurt on exactly the 23rd. He was going to wait maybe a week or so. It would be too mean to break up with him on their three month anniversary. He still hadn't figured that part of his plan out. He was thinking of getting Kurt to break up with him; that way, the younger boy probably won't have a hard time with the 'becoming friends' thing.

"Blaine!" The senior's train of thoughts was interrupted by a familiar voice. He looked down the hallway to see Kurt making his way towards him. The grin on his face was obvious. Blaine smiled and sped his pace up just a little to meet Kurt halfway.

"Hey, I told you I was going to you," Blaine smiled at Kurt when they stood in front of each other.

"I've been in that room all afternoon," Kurt answered. "I wanted to leave anyway."

"Alright then, where to?" Blaine held his hand out for Kurt to take. Kurt took it with a shy smile and Blaine pulled him down the hall while he laced their fingers together.

"I want to go put my stuff away in my room," Kurt motioned to the messenger bag that hung over his shoulder. Blaine reached over and took it from him.

"You don't have to do that," Kurt tried to take his bag back, but Blaine moved it out of the way.

"I insist," Blaine slung the bag over his left shoulder. He smiled and squeezed Kurt's hand. Kurt squeezed back.

"Are you done studying for today?" Kurt asked when they ascended the stairs to get to the floor of Kurt's dorm.

"Yup. What about you? I did interrupt you."

"I was just re-reading it when you came in," Kurt shrugged. They reached his door and Blaine waited while Kurt pulled out his key and opened the door.

"Where's Trent?"

"At the library I think," Kurt let go of Blaine's had when they entered the room.

"I see," Blaine set Kurt's bag down by his desk and sat down on the chair while Kurt moved some things off of his bed. "You started packing already?"

"Yeah," Kurt moved some neatly folded clothes to the top of his dresser and sat down on the bed. "We have Warblers practice after classes tomorrow and my dad's coming to pick me up at 5 since I left my car at home the last time I went home. I wanted to make sure I had everything and didn't have to rush."

"That's smart," Blaine stood from the chair and went to sit next to Kurt on his bed. "I should start packing later tonight."

Blaine sat closer to Kurt than usual. There was almost no space between them from their shoulders to thighs. "It's too late to go out somewhere, so do you mind if we hang out here instead?"

"Sure," The smile never left Kurt's face.

"So what did your old teacher want?" Blaine shifted and rested his hands on the bed behind Kurt. He was going to wrap his arm around Kurt's shoulder or waist, but thought against it…for now.

"He needed my shopping expertise," Kurt responded. "Do you want to watch a movie or something?"

"Sure," Blaine watched as Kurt stood up and went to turn his laptop on. He went over to his desk drawer and searched for a DVD to watch. "What did he need help shopping for?"

"He drew Coach Sylvester's name in some secret Santa thing and had no idea what to get her. I recommended a fur lined track suit."

"Fur lined track suit?" Blaine repeated. He stood up from the bed and went over to the desk. Kurt had opened another drawing and was moving some things around while he searched for something. Blaine went to check on Pavarotti, whose cage was on the desk. "I see you managed to keep Pavarotti alive so far."

"Shut up," Kurt straightened to mock glare at Blaine. Blaine only laughed. "And, yes, track suit. In all my time at McKinley, I've never seen her wear anything else."

"Interesting. What are you looking for?"

"Hah!" Kurt smiled triumphantly as he held out a DVD case. Blaine took it from him and looked at the cover

"Despicable Me?" Blaine gave Kurt a question gaze. The younger boy took the case back and took out the disc to place into his laptop.

"I never had a chance to watch it," Kurt shrugged. He pressed play and went back to sit on his bed. Blaine followed him.

Kurt and Blaine kicked off his shoes and moved up on the bed so that they were leaning against the wall. A few minutes into the movie, Kurt shifted on the bed so that he was leaning back on Blaine. Blaine smiled and moved his arm so that it was loosely wrapped around Kurt's slender waist. Feeling a little daring, he leaned forward and placed another kiss on Kurt's cheek.

"Have I told you how happy I was that you said yes?" Blaine said softly.

"Not as happy as I am that you asked me," Kurt smiled and snuggled into Blaine. The two stayed in that position throughout the entire movie. Kurt was snuggled up to Blaine, who would occasionally place feather light kisses on his face. Blaine didn't want to kiss him on the lips just yet.

Kurt's roommate came back to the room just as the credit's rolled onto the screen. He saw the position the two were in and raised an eyebrow at the two.

"Are a congratulations in order?' Trent asked as he dropped his stuff onto the floor next to his bed. "Because it's about time. I was getting tired of Kurt's ongoing debate with himself about whether or not you really did like him, or he was just making it all up in his head."

Kurt blushed and glared at his laughing roommate, who grabbed some clothes out of his dresser and headed for the bathroom to change. Blaine chucked softly and moved his arm from around Kurt to stretch. "I should get going. Curfew's in twenty minutes."

"Alright," Kurt stood up from the bed and waited for Kurt to put his shoes back on. He then walked Blaine to the door.

"Tomorrow's a half day," Blaine told Kurt as they stood in the doorway. "So how about we go out for lunch? Our first real date as boyfriends."

Blaine saw the way Kurt's eyes seemed to light up when he said 'boyfriends' and felt a twinge of guilt in his chest.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Blaine pulled Kurt into a hug. "Goodnight, Kurt."

"Good night," Kurt pulled back and kissed Blaine on the cheek. He looked up at Blaine from under his eyelashes and gave him a smile shy. Blaine had to smile at that. Kurt looked cute like that, and even though it was just a kiss on the cheek, it felt nice.

"I'll see in the morning, alright? I'll stop by your room on the way to breakfast"

"Alright," Kurt smiled and gave him one last hug before going back into his room and closing the door.

The smile left Blaine's face as he made his way back to his room. At the rate they were going, this relationship was going to progress slowly. Kurt seemed shy and timid, which was different from his usual confident diva attitude. Blaine understood why, though. Though Kurt had obviously dated that blonde last year, he probably never had experience dating a guy. And, after that bully kissed him, it would only make sense that he was a little hesitant about kissing. But, this wasn't exactly something he was used to. He's had a couple boyfriends before, and none of them were ever as shy as Kurt. Blaine tended to stay away from shy guys because they made him impatient. Hopefully, Kurt would be different.

Wes still had his nose buried into his textbook when Blaine got back. Blaine changed into his pajamas and crawled into his bed. He pulled out his phone and wrote a quick message to Kurt.

_Sweet dreams (heart)_. He found it a little corny, but figured Kurt would like it. He was right, because not even a minute later, he received a similar message from Kurt.

-.-.-.-.-

"Have you finished packing?" Blaine asked after he and Kurt left Warblers' practice.

"Almost, I just have to put a few more things away," Kurt answered. They reached Kurt's room and went inside. Blaine saw a small suitcase on Kurt's bed that was still open. It was almost full and had a small pile of folded clothes next to it.

"Need help?" Blaine asked as he leaned in to plant a kiss on Kurt's cheek.

"No, I've got it," Kurt went to the pile of clothes and began to organize them. "But can you get me a pair of pajamas from the bottom dresser drawer? You know, I've never worn pajamas, like actual pajamas, before coming to Dalton. I usually just wore an old t-shirt and some sweats to sleep. But Carole bought me a couple when I came here and the green satin ones are really comfortable."

Blaine opened the dresser and saw the green pajamas Kurt was talking about. He pulled it out and handed it to Kurt. He was going to close the drawer when something caught his attention. There were some light blue pajamas in the drawer, too, but it looked a lot bigger than the green ones. He pulled it out and held it in front of him. It looked a little big on Kurt.

"Are these yours?" He held the pajamas out for Kurt to see. "They look a little big on you."

"I forgot those were in there," Kurt stood up and took the pajamas from Blaine with a small smile on his face. "I hated having to wear this thing."

"What did you wear it for?" Blaine asked curiously.

"A commercial," Kurt answered. Blaine stared at his boyfriend in shock.

"You were in a commercial?"

"All of New Directions was," Kurt answered as he set aside the pajamas. "It was a local commercial for this mattress store. We all had to wear matching pajamas and jumped on a bunch of mattresses while we sang 'Jump'."

"Why'd you hate the pajamas though?" Blaine closed the drawer and went to stand by Kurt.

"It made me look like two years younger than I really was," Kurt rolled his eyes.

"Aww," Blaine pinched Kurt's cheeks softly. "I bet you looked cute."

"I looked like a child," Kurt said disdainfully. A soft _ping_ sounded and Kurt went over to his bag to take his phone out. "It's Finn. He says he and dad should be here in about twenty minutes. I should hurry."

"I'm going to miss you," Blaine said as he handed Kurt some of the folded shirts on the bed.

"I'm going to miss you, too." Kurt smiled softly at him as he put the clothes away.

"I got you something," Blaine pulled a small wrapped box out of his blazer pocket and handed it to Kurt. "But you have to promise me you won't open it until tomorrow."

Kurt took the box from him and smiled brightly. "I got you something, too."

"You did?" Blaine's eyebrows raised in surprise. He wasn't expecting that. He watched as Kurt walked to his desk and opened the first drawer. He pulled out a box wrapped in shiny red paper with a small gold bow on it.

"I bought it last week when we were at the mall with Wes and David," Kurt answered. Blaine thought back to that day. He had been too upset about the two boys following them that he hadn't really paid much attention to what Kurt bought.

"Thank you," Blaine accepted the package from him.

"Merry Christmas, Blaine," Kurt put away the gift Blaine had given him and closed his suitcase.

"Merry Christmas," Blaine set the present down gingerly and pulled Kurt into a hug. Kurt rested his head on his shoulder and hugged him tightly.

Blaine pulled away slowly but kept his arms wrapped around Kurt. Their eyes locked and they shared a soft smile. Blaine leaned forward and rested his forehead against Kurt's. He thought about something on TV he saw once. Eskimo kisses. He had always thought they were a bit too much for him. He was all for romance and being cute, but he never saw the point in Eskimo kisses. But, against his better judgment, he pressed his nose lightly to Kurt's and rubbed them slowly. This elicited a soft giggle from Kurt. Before Blaine could think about it, he reached down and pressed his lips to Kurt's softly.

He was about to pull back and apologize again, but then he felt Kurt kiss him back. It was a purely innocent kiss, but it was still nice. The two boys pulled apart and Blaine smiled at Kurt again. Maybe Eskimo kisses weren't too bad.

-.-.-.-.-

"Kurt, are you going to tell your dad about us?" Blaine asked as he helped Kurt carry his suitcase down to the front of the school, where his dad was going to pick him up.

"I…don't know, yet," Kurt answered hesitantly. "I mean, I want to. But I think he's still getting used to me being gay. I don't want to freak him out by telling him I have a boyfriend."

"I understand," Blaine gave him a reassuring smile. Blaine actually thought this would be better. Meeting Kurt's parents would imply that this 'relationship' was going to go somewhere.

"There's my dad and Finn." Blaine looked to wear Kurt was pointing and saw the tall boy from sectionals, Finn, and a man in a baseball cap. The two walked up to them and Finn took Kurt's suitcase from Blaine.

"Dad, this is my…friend, Blaine," Blaine hoped that the other two didn't notice Kurt's small pause before he said friend.

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Hummel," Blaine put on his best smile and shook the man's hand.

"We should get going, kiddo," Kurt's dad told him as he and Finn started to make their way to the car. I want to get back before it starts snowing again.

"Alright," Kurt turned to Blaine. "You'll be careful driving, right?"

"Of course," Blaine felt his heart warm when he saw the look of worry on Kurt's face. He felt the sudden urge to kiss the boy, but decided against it because his dad and brother were still looking at them. "The snow shouldn't be too bad until tonight anyway, and it's only three hours away."

"Call me when you get home?"

"I will, I promise," Blaine watched Kurt go and waved goodbye before the car drove off.

-.-.-.-.-

_As much as I love Klaine, I don't think that it would be natural if they started making out right away. Maybe that's just me though. I dunno. _

_I also added the mattress land thing in here because I wanted to keep up with the whole 'Blaine discovers something about Kurt' thing. I THINK, though I could be wrong, that I had a little something in every chapter. I actually ran out of things, which was why I added the thing about Kurt's mom in the last chapter. But, as I was writing this, the radio played 'Jump'. Not the glee version though. Then I remembered the commercial. Yeah._

_I told myself I was going to make the next few chapters longer to make up for the shortness of the previous ones, but yeeah, this came out short too. I promise the next one will be longer. I already have it planned out in my head. _

_BUT, I need your help. I have no idea what gift Kurt gets from Blaine. Sooo, suggestions would be a great help. It was actually part of the reason I cut this chapter short. I wanted to add Christmas to this but have no idea what the gifts are. I know, I'm lame like that. Like Mr. Shue, I'm a horrible gift giver._


	13. Chapter 13

_Thanks so much for all the reviews guys. You have no idea how much they mean to me. And thanks for all the suggestions. Keep them coming!_

-.-.-.-.-

"Kurt!" Kurt was greeted by a barrage of voices when he entered his house. He was surprised to see all of New Directions in his living room.

"What are you guys doing here?" He asked as his arms were suddenly full of Mercedes and Brittany.

"We wanted to see you, of course!" Rachel supplied as she moved forward to hug him.

"Aww," Kurt had a large grin on his face. "I missed you guys."

"Uh, what's with the bird?" Artie asked when Finn walked in with a cage in his hands.

"Oh, that's Pavarotti," Kurt took the cage and showed it to his friends. "He's my voice."

"Your voice?" Tina looked at the bird skeptically.

"It's a Warbler thing," Kurt explained. "They give a bird to all the new members."

"Should you really be around birds?" Quinn asked when Kurt set the cage down on the coffee table. Kurt groaned while a few people laughed at him. Finn had told everyone about the glitter fiasco during the wedding.

"It's still alive, isn't it?" Kurt rolled his eyes.

"Well, I have to get home," Mercedes announced.

"What? But I just got here!"

"I'm sorry, babe," Mercedes pulled him into another hug. "But I have to help my parents get things set up for Christmas tomorrow. I just wanted to make sure that I was here to welcome you back home."

"I have to get going, too," Sam stepped forward and patted Kurt on the back. "My mom wants me home in half an hour."

One by one, all of New Directions walked up to Kurt to say goodbye. He wished that his friends could stay longer, but he understood. And, he was grateful that they all came here to welcome him back. Soon, it was just Puck and Rachel left. Since both of them were Jewish, they really didn't have to prepare for anything tomorrow. But, Puck had to go look after his sister because his mom was working, and Rachel didn't feel comfortable around Finn, so they both bid the two boys goodbye and left in their separate cars.

"I should get my stuff into our room," Kurt picked up the cage that held Pavarotti and made his way to the basement. He saw Finn pick up his suitcase and follow him down to their shared room.

"Mom should be home soon," Finn commented as he set Kurt's things down beside his bed. "She was starting to worry about you because you haven't called home the past two weeks."

"I was just busy with school and finals," Kurt replied. He opened his suitcase and began pulling his clothes out. Finn sat on the couch in front of the small TV in the room and turned his Xbox on. He grabbed a control and started to play while Kurt put his stuff away.

"So are you going to tell me what happened between you and Rachel?" Kurt asked after a few minutes of listening to guns and explosions from Finn's game.

"I'm sure she already told you the story," Finn pushed frantically on the buttons of his controller.

"All she told me was that she had this elaborate gift planned out for you. Something about a song she wanted to sing and a whole bunch of trees and fake snow in the auditorium and you walking out before she could sing it?"

"I just…can't be with her right now," Finn pressed pause on his game and ran a hand through his hair. "First Quinn cheated on me last year, and now Rachel did, too. Why do all my girlfriends have to cheat on me all the time?"

Kurt walked over to sit next to the forlorn boy. "Well, Quinn was under the influence of alcohol, if I remember correctly. And Rachel, she was just angry at you for lying to her about Santana. And you know how crazy she gets when she gets emotional. She probably wasn't thinking things through. I don't think they did it to purposely hurt you."

"Even if they didn't mean to, they still did it." Finn leaned back on the back of the couch and sighed. "Am I such a horrible boyfriend that they have to cheat on me?"

"You're not a bad boyfriend," Kurt put a comforting arm on his step-brother's shoulder. "I remember how you treated Quinn last year and how ready you were to start a family with her when she told you about the baby. I also remember how you stuck by Rachel no matter how much people picked on her. That shows that you're a great boyfriend, Finn."

"Then why did they both cheat on me? And with _Puck_. Why is it always Puck?"

"I don't know the answers to those questions. If I did, I'd be more than happy to share them with you."

The two fell into a comfortable silence after that. Kurt went back to unpacking his things, and Finn went back to his game. Once Kurt was done putting everything away, he went to sit next to Finn on the couch. Finn shut his game off and they both watched some Christmas movie that was showing. While watching the movie, they talked about their schools and things that have been going on, like Finn's football team and how Kurt was adjusting at Dalton.

"She threw a _shoe_ at you guys?" Kurt laughed as Finn told him about the disaster that was their caroling experience in McKinley. "I can't believe a teacher did that."

Finn opened his mouth to reply but stopped when Kurt's phone began to ring. The smaller boy took it out and smiled brightly when he saw the name flashing on the screen.

"Blaine," he answered, sounding a little breathless. "You made it home alright?"

Finn could only hear Kurt's side of the conversation, but looked at him curiously. Kurt listened to what the other person, Blaine, was saying. He smiled softly and his eyes seemed to light up.

"That's great," Kurt answered with a small laugh. He seemed to have forgotten that Finn was sitting right next to him. "And, sure, go. Have fun with your parents. I'll talk to you later, alright?"

Finn raised an eyebrow when a blush appeared on Kurt's face at whatever the person on the other end of the line said. He had a dopey looking smile on his face. Kurt whispered something that Finn didn't quite catch because of the noise from the TV, but it sounded suspiciously like 'I miss you'.

"Who was that?" Finn asked.

"Oh," Kurt looked at him in surprise and now Finn was sure that Kurt had momentarily forgotten about him. "Just a friend from school."

"Blaine?" Finn asked. "That was the name you said when you answered the call, right?"

"Yeah, his name is Blaine," Finn noticed the small smile on Kurt's lips when he said the other boy's name.

"Isn't that the guy Mercedes said you liked?"

"I…well—" Kurt stammered. His nervousness was enough to answer Finn's question.

"I see," Finn grinned down at the now blushing boy. "How's that going for you?"

"Fine," Kurt mumbled as he stared down at his lap.

Finn was about to ask him more questions, but he heard his mom calling down to them. Kurt stood up quickly and climbed up the stairs, with Finn following closely behind him.

-.-.-.-.-

"Kurt!" Kurt groaned as a loud voice interrupted the nice dream he was having. He rolled over in his bed and tried to drown it out by putting the pillow over his head. But, his comforter was forcibly yanked off of him and the cold got to him instantly.

"Finn!" Kurt sat up and gave the tall boy the best glare he could muster in his sleepy state.

"Kurt, its Christmas!" Finn said with enthusiasm that shouldn't be allowed so early in the morning.

"I know, but did you have to wake me up at," Kurt turned to his alarm clock and let out a frustrated sigh when he saw the time. "Finn, it's only six-thirty!"

"But, Kurt," Finn grabbed Kurt's hands and forced him out of bed. "We have presents to open!"

Kurt rolled his eyes at the other boy's antics but followed him up the stairs anyway. They walked into the living room. Kurt followed slowly, rubbing his arms in an effort to keep warm. He saw a fairly large pile under the tree that wasn't there last night.

Finn practically dived into the pile under the tree and sifted through the boxes, looking for his gifts. Kurt slowly walked into the kitchen to make a pot of coffee. Once he had some caffeine in his system, he went back to the living room. There was a mess of torn paper all over the floor, with Finn sitting between it all.

"Your stuff is over there," Finn told him as he continued to open his gifts. Kurt looked to the fairly impressive pile of gifts that Finn had moved to the side. He saw that each one of them had his name on it.

Kurt grabbed the blue and silver gift on the top of the pile. He looked at the card and saw that it was from Brittany. He pulled on the ribbon and lifted the lid. Inside, he saw the cutest stuffed penguin. It had large baby blue eyes and a cute red bow tie on its neck. Kurt pulled it out and hugged it close. It was really soft.

He placed the penguin onto his lap and reached for another present. He smiled at the amount of gifts he got. He remembered Christmas last year and smiled. He didn't get this many gifts last year. Things were really different this year. He actually had friends who cared about him now.

He had gotten through the gifts from New Directions when he noticed a small gift sitting in the bottom of the pile. He picked it up and turned it over, looking for a name tag. But he couldn't find any. "Finn," He called, getting the other boy's attention. "Is this one mine?"

"I think so? I saw it sitting in the bottom of your suitcase last night."

Kurt's eyes widened when he suddenly remembered the gift from Blaine. He smiled softly to himself and began to pull away the tape. He did his best to make sure that the paper wasn't ripped. Once the box was unwrapped, he saw a CD case. There was no label or any indication of what the CD was about. He opened the case and saw a plain white disc inside. It looked like a burned CD.

"I'm going to go down to the basement real quick," He told Finn, who was busy looking through some book that came with his new video game. Kurt hurried downstairs and brought the CD with him. He didn't know what was on the CD, but he felt like he shouldn't listen to it with Finn in the room.

He closed the door behind him and inserted the disc into the CD player. He pressed play. At first it was silent, but then he heard the piano begin to play. He didn't recognize the song.

"_I've been alone, surrounded by darkness. I've seen how heartless the world can be."_

Kurt's eyes widened when he recognized Blaine's voice coming from his speakers. Blaine had given him a song? He sat down on his bed and listened to the song. He closed his eyes and let his boyfriend's voice wash over him.

"_Baby you're not alone 'cause you're here with me. And nothing's ever gonna bring us down 'cause nothing can keep me from loving you."_

By the second chorus, Kurt's eyes were shining with tears. He wasn't able to figure out what this song was, and a part of him told him that Blaine had written the song. The thought of Blaine writing and singing a song for him brought a smile to his lips and tears in his eyes. No one has ever done something like that for him.

"Kurt?" A soft voice sounded from the stairs when the song ended; it was the only one on the CD. Kurt hastily wiped at his eyes as his step brother walked into the room. "Are you alright?"

"I'm great, Finn," Kurt told him honestly. "Just great."

"Who was that? The person singing?" Finn asked curiously. The voice had sounded familiar to him. Kurt just blushed and spouted random words that Finn couldn't make any sense out of. And then, something seemed to click in Finn's head. That look in Kurt's eyes was the same look he had when he was on the phone yesterday. And that smile on his face was the same smile he had when he said that name: Blaine. Blaine who was in the Warblers and sang lead at sectionals; it was his voice that Finn heard coming from the stereo.

"That was that Blaine guy, wasn't it?" Kurt only blushed in response.

"Who is he to you?" Finn asked. He had suspicions about the answer though.

"He's just a friend," Kurt didn't look at Finn when he answered. Finn then remembered the short curly haired boy that Kurt had introduced to his dad yesterday. He remembered the slight pause before Kurt had said the word 'friend'.

"He's your boyfriend, isn't he?" There was an accusing tone in Finn's voice, but there was no malice, just curiosity.

"Please don't tell my dad," Kurt pleaded.

"I—I won't," Finn was a little surprised at how easily Kurt admitted to having a boyfriend. He thought that Kurt was going to continue insisting that they were friends. "But, why won't you tell him? I thought you and Burt were close?"

"I just don't want to spring it on him too soon. I have no idea how he's going to react. It's one thing to know that your son is gay, but him having a boyfriend is a whole other thing all together."

"Oh."

"This is…this is okay, right?" Kurt asked slowly.

"Of course," Finn hurried to reassure the smaller boy. "It's totally fine, Kurt. I'm happy for you."

"Thanks, Finn." Kurt smiled up at the taller boy. For a moment, he had been worried about how he would react.

"Does anyone else know?" Kurt shook his head.

"I mean, the guys at Dalton know, but no, I haven't told anyone from Lima yet."

"How long have you been dating?"

"Since the day before yesterday," Kurt smiled at the memory and Finn couldn't help but notice how happy his step-brother looked. He hadn't seen him that happy since the wedding.

"I'm happy for you, Kurt. Really, I am." Finn moved and put a hand on Kurt's shoulder. "And don't forget: if he ever gives you a hard time, all you have to do is tell me."

-.-.-.-.-

Blaine woke up on Christmas morning when his mom came knocking on his door. It was a family tradition that they all ate breakfast together on Christmas morning before going into the living room to open their presents. After Blaine had opened his presents, he thanked his parents and took them up to his room.

He put them down on his bed and sat down. He leaned over his bed and grabbed his duffel bag. His parents had taken him out to dinner after he got home and afterwards, he spent the night talking to Kurt on IM. He hadn't really had time to unpack. He pulled the zipper open and the first thing he saw was the present Kurt had given him. It was wrapped neatly and there was an immaculately tied bow around it. He was sure that Kurt had been the one who tied it.

He pulled at the ribbon and took the paper off of the thin brown box. He wondered what Kurt had gotten him. Then, he wondered if Kurt was awake yet and had opened his gift and if he liked it. He had kicked Wes out of their room early yesterday morning so that he could record that song for Kurt. He had originally planned on getting Kurt a scarf or something, but since he had asked him out, it seemed too impersonal. He remembered that Kurt had said he got this for them last week. Kurt had gotten this for him when they were still just friends.

Blaine opened the box and pulled out its contents. It was a shirt; that was the first thing Blaine had noticed. It was a nice share of red. He held the shirt out to get a good look at it and his eyes widened just a little in surprise. There was a golden coat of arms on the front of the shirt with a lion standing proudly on is two hind legs. Below the coat of arms was a banner that held the word 'Gryffindor'.

A huge grin erupted on Blaine's face as he held the shirt in front of him. He realized what would have brought Kurt to get the shirt for him. He thought back to the conversation he and Kurt had while they had a Harry Potter movie marathon a few weekends ago. He and Kurt had gotten into an argument over which house they would be in. Kurt had insisted that Blaine's proper manners and the fact that he always had to be nice to everyone guaranteed him a spot in the Hufflepuff house. Blaine, of course, had wanted to be one of the brave Gryffindors since the very first movie. Their argument lasted throughout the entire marathon and had even continued on for a while the next day. Blaine remembered that it had ended with Kurt telling him that no matter what he said, the younger boy stood firm in his belief that Blaine belonged in the House of Hufflepuff.

Blaine took off the shirt he had on so he could try on the one Kurt had given him. It fit perfectly. He smiled as he looked at himself in the mirror. Kurt really did know how to pick gifts. Blaine took the shirt off, cut off the tags, and put it away. He looked around his room for his phone. He tried to remember where he last had it. He had sent Kurt a goodnight text before drifting off to sleep. He went over to his bed and lifted his pillow. He found his phone beneath it. He picked it up and frowned when the screen refused to light up, no matter what buttons he pressed

He realized that it must have died. He searched his duffel bag for his charger and plugged it into the outlet on the wall. He put the other end into his phone and waited for it to turn on. After it turned on, he saw that he had quite a few messages. There were a bunch of messages from his friends from school, all greeting him a Merry Christmas.

He searched through his inbox, starting with the oldest ones, until he came across a name he was looking for: Kurt. He saw that Kurt had sent him a text message a couple hours ago. What was he doing up so early? Especially because they had been up until two talking to each other. Blaine searched through his messages and found another one Kurt sent a little while later.

_Your gift was amazing :') Thank you sooo much (heart) xxx._

Blaine smiled down at the message. It looks like he made a great choice when he decided to record that song for Kurt. He brought up Kurt's number on his phone and pressed send. Kurt answered on the third ring.

"Blaine!" Blaine smiled at the enthusiasm he heard in Kurt's voice. "Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas to you, too," Blaine said softly. "I loved the shirt you got me. It was perfect."

"It's nothing compared to what you got me," Blaine could practically see the smile on Kurt's voice. "Did you write it yourself?"

"Yeah, I did," Blaine smiled proudly.

"When did you find the time to do that?"

"I did it yesterday morning," Blaine admitted. "I actually had to kick Wes out of the room to do it. I don't think he was too happy about that."

Kurt's laughing voice reached his ears. "He probably wasn't. Did you write all that in one night?"

"No, actually," Blaine started slowly. "I got the idea for the song back in middle school when I was still getting bullied and stuff. But I never got to finishing it because I had no idea where to go with it. But then, you told me all those stories about your bullying, and the song sort of just came to me."

"It was beautiful." Kurt said in a firm voice. "It was the best gift ever."

"I'm glad you liked it."

"Hey Blaine," Kurt's voice suddenly sounded soft and timid.

"Yeah, Kurt?"

"I…kind of told Finn about us." Kurt said softly.

"You did?" Blaine's voice showed his surprise.

"Well, he sort of figured it out on his own. That actually took me by surprise. I didn't peg him as the observant type. But yeah, he called me out on it, and I told him."

"I thought you didn't want anyone to know just yet?"

"I didn't want my _dad_ to know just yet," Kurt clarified. "I got Finn to promise not to tell him."

"Are you going to tell anyone else?" Blaine asked. He had worried about how Kurt's friends would react when he had to end their relationship. He heard stories about how protective they can be sometimes and it worried him. At this rate, he was going to have to make sure that Kurt was the one who broke it off.

"That's what I kind of wanted to talk to you about." Kurt said slowly. "I spent a good part of last year hiding who I was because I was afraid of what people would do to me. Being part of New Directions taught me how to be proud of who I was and not care what anyone thought. Hiding who I was showed that I was ashamed of who I am.

"In that same logic, hiding you from my friends would imply that I was ashamed of you. And I'm not. I'm proud to have you as my boyfriend, Blaine. I feel so lucky that you chose me and I want to let the whole world know."

Blaine felt warmth spread through his chest at those words. He heard the sincerity in Kurt's voice and that just made it all the more better. No one had quite made him feel like this before, and the feeling was strange to him. He had no idea what it was so he couldn't place a name to it. All he knew was that he felt a comforting warmth around him and a large grin on his face that was beginning to make his cheeks hurt. And it was all because of those few simple words Kurt had said.

"Blaine?" Kurt's voice called in is ear and he hadn't realized that he was keeping the boy waiting. "If that isn't okay, then I don't have to do it—"

"No!" Blaine said a little too quickly. "No. Tell whoever you want Kurt."

"Great," Blaine could hear him let out a small sigh of relief. "Hey, I have to go. Carole is calling me up to breakfast."

"Sure, I need to go get showered anyway. We're going to go visit my grandparents."

"I'll talk to you later then. I miss you."

"I miss you, too, Kurt." Blaine smiled as Kurt ended their call. He looked down at his screen. Numbers were flashing, showing him the duration of his call with Kurt. He smiled down at his phone. The warm feeling in his chest wasn't as strong now, but it was still there. He made a mental note to figure out what that feeling was later as he made his way to his bathroom.

-.-.-.-

**Kurt Hummel **is now in a relationship with **Blaine Anderson**

**Blaine Anderson, Mercedes Jones, **and **17 **others like this.

**Santana Lopez** Wanky ;)

**Brittany S. Pierce **likes this.

**Mercedes Jones** Oh hell to the no! Why am I only finding out about this NOW?

**Rachel Berry** and **5 **others like this.

**Kurt Hummel** I'm sorry! It only happened the other day.

**Mercedes Jones** well, I'm happy for you, Kurt. And Blaine! You better treat my boy right!

**Kurt Hummel** likes this.

**Blaine Anderson** I will :)

**Kurt Hummel **and **Mercedes Jones** like this.

**Noah 'Puck' Puckerman** Remember what I said Kurt. Just say the word and I'll be over there in a second to kick that boy's ass.

**Mike Chang** and **4** others like this.

**Mike Chang **I second that!

**Tina Cohen-Chang **and **3** others like this.

**Artie Abrams **You know I got your back, man!

**Sam Evans** Though I'm against hurting anyone from Dalton, I'll be right there with the ND guys if it comes down to it.

**Kurt Hummel** Awww, you guys are the greatest :)

**Trent Morrison** Wow, you weren't joking when you said your friends could get protective.

**Blaine Anderson** I'm kind of intimidated now… :/

**Finn Hudson** You should be.

**Noah 'Puck' Puckerman **and **11 **others like this.

-.-.-.-.-

Blaine stared at his computer screen with a small frown on his face. Kurt's friends worried him a little. He didn't know them all too well, but he had a feeling that they were serious and it frightened him just a little. Especially that Puck guy—He remembered seeing the guy with the Mohawk glaring at him during sectionals. And he remembered Kurt telling him that Puck had been in juvie. And, that was all Blaine really needed to know to figure out that angering Puck was the last thing he wanted to do.

_Kurt:____Don't let them intimidate you. They mean well. _

Blaine replied to Kurt's IM and went back to Kurt's page. He had never really had a chance to look at it before. He clicked on Kurt's photos; there wasn't too many. There were quite a few he was tagged in though. Blaine scanned through the photos as he continued to IM Kurt. He was about to leave Kurt's profile when something caught his eye.

It was a video Kurt was tagged in. It was from some person named Jacob Ben Israel. Blaine clicked on the video and waited for it to load. When the video loaded, it started off with the scoreboard of a football game. Zero to six with only a few seconds left in the game. Blaine winced. Those weren't good odds. Then, it went to the two teams. It looked like the team in the red, Kurt's team from what he remembered seeing, was about to hike the ball.

He saw the quarterback signal to someone before a loud screech of feedback came from the speakers. Blaine's jaw dropped in shock when the team from McKinley all began to dance to _Single Ladies_. Blaine kept his eyes on the screen as the team continued to dance. This could only be the work of Kurt. There was no other way the team would have done something like this. Blaine sat on the edge of his seat as the quarterback threw the ball. He almost cheered out loud when they scored the touchdown. He could hear the crowd screaming in the background.

Then, he saw someone run onto the field. It was the kicker. He looked so tiny compared to the rest of the team; it _had _to be Kurt. Blaine leaned forward in his seat. The kicker signaled to someone who played the song again. Kurt danced forward and kicked the ball. The camera followed the ball and this time, Blaine actually did cheer.

The camera went back to the field where the kicker had taken off his helmet. It _was_ Kurt. Blaine could see the large smile on his face as the rest of the team lifted him onto their shoulders. He could see Kurt's mouth moving, but couldn't hear a thing over the cheering of the crowd. The video ended there. Blaine sat back in his seat and let out a breath. That was the craziest, but most amazing, thing he's ever seen during a football game.

He shook his head and laughed when he noticed that he had four IM's from Kurt, each asking what happened to him. He had forgotten about everything else when he was watching the video. Blaine smiled to himself as he replied to Kurt. He wasn't even with Kurt right now but the younger boy still found a way to catch him off guard.

-.-.-.-.-

_Whoo! Another chapter done! This is out earlier than usual. I usually post up a chapter before I head to bed at around midnight or so and it's only 5 right now. But, because the last chapter was such a success, I think it had the most reviews for a chapter so far, I just had to write some more. _

_Also, thanks for all the suggestions, guys! They were really helpful. And the ones about things that shock Blaine was a great help. I have so many ideas for the next chapters. I also have a perfect idea for the Valentine 's Day episode! I can't wait to write that out._

_I've got a bit of a thing for Facebook stories. I've always wanted to try it but I couldn't come up with a decent story, so I just added it here. I learned how much of a hassle formatting it can be so I doubt I'm writing a facebook story anytime soon. _

_Also, I came across this story earlier. I can't remember its title right now. I found it on livejournal. It was mostly focused on Burt. He found out that the person who called him in the Wheels episode was Rachel's dad, who wanted to make sure that Rachel won that solo by intimidating Kurt. It had a Puck/Kurt relationship and made me curious so I checked it out. It's okay, I guess. I guess I can see the appeal in it, but it just isn't more me. I'm a die hard klaine shipper! I do, however, like a puck/kurt friendship where puck is protective of him. And I'm going to put that into this story. Lol. _

_Wow, I talked a lot. Anyway, thanks again for all the suggestions and reviews, guys. Keep them coming! _


	14. Chapter 14

_This is turning out to be my most successful story yet. Thanks, guys! You guys rock!_

-.-.-.-.-

Blaine woke up to a heavy pounding on his door. He rolled out of bed and blinked the sleep out of his eyes. He glanced at the clock on his bedside table and groaned. Who gets up at 7AM during winter break? He rolled out of bed and went to his door, where the pounding had gotten louder. He opened the door and glared at the grinning faces of Wes and David. David lived next door to him and they went to the same elementary school together. But, David went to Dalton for middle school and Blaine opted to go to go to the local middle school. David met Wes at Dalton, who apparently lived over on the next street, and introduced him to Blaine when Blaine finally transferred to Dalton when high school started.

"What are you guys doing here so early?" Blaine asked as he ran a hand through his disheveled hair.

"We wanted to see if you were up for a drive today," David pushed his way into Blaine's room with Wes following behind him.

"A drive to where?" Blaine asked as he closed his bedroom door shut and went back to lie down on his bed.

"Lima," Wes announced as he sat down on the bed next to Blaine.

"Lima?" Blaine sat up and stared at his friends. "As in Kurt's town? The one that's like five hours away?"

"Yup," David jumped onto Blaine's bed and grinned up at him. "That's why we have to leave soon if we want to get there early enough! Now, get into that shower and get ready!"

Blaine remained on his bed and looked at his friends in disbelief.

"What are you waiting for?" Wes stood up and yanked Blaine off the bed. "Don't you want to see that boyfriend of yours? He says he misses you."

"You were talking to Kurt?" Wes gave him a look and a simple 'of course'. "When did you guys talk?"

"We were chatting with each other last night," Wes answered with a shrug. "Then I asked him how your 'relationship'—" Wes made air quotes with his fingers here. "—was going and he said that it sucks that right after you guys get together, you get separated for two months."

"Wes told me what Kurt said and I thought it'd be a great idea to go visit him at Lima," David grinned.

"Okay," Blaine said slowly. He went to his closet to grab some clothes and with one last look at his two friends he went into his bathroom to get ready.

-.-.-.-.-

"So why are we doing this?" Blaine asked once they were on the road. Wes was driving and David was sitting in the passenger seat next to him, leaving Blaine alone in the backseat. Blaine kicked off his shoes and got comfortable in the back. He was still tired. Wes and David barging in his room had interrupted his sleep.

"Because Kurt misses you?" Wes looked at Blaine through the rear view mirror.

"Because your money is on the line, I thought you'd be enjoying the fact that Kurt and I are apart." Blaine grumbled.

"Consider this your Christmas present?" David supplied, turning his head so he could look at Blaine.

"And I actually like hanging out with Kurt," Wes kept his eyes on the road as he made a turn. "I never really hung out with him outside of school or Warblers practice before we started bugging you that one week."

"Yeah," David agreed. "He's pretty fun to be around."

"You guys were the one who suggested this date him them dump him thing," Blaine pointed out. For a moment, he found himself hoping that they would decide to cancel it.

"We know and we actually talked about it last night," David answered. "Kurt seems like a nice guy. But since you already asked him out, we can't very well cancel the bet now, can we?"

"No, I guess not." Blaine frowned and looked out the window at all the passing cars.

"So we'll stick out the three months," Wes continued. "Then you—as nicely as you can—break up without hurting him; or, get him to break up with you. But, that's assuming that you guys make it to three months."

"Wow," Blaine looked forward at the back of his two friends' heads. "I was actually thinking about that before I asked him out."

"Great minds think alike?" David grinned at the other two boys in the car.

They drove in silence for a while before Wes spoke up again. "Am I the only one who feels like a douche for doing this?"

The three boys laughed softly. Blaine sat back in his seat and looked out the window. "When he first came to the school, we probably never would have thought we'd like him so much."

"He really is something," David said with a small laugh.

"Did you know he was in a commercial?" Blaine said absently.

"A commercial? For what?" David asked curiously.

"Mattress Land," Wes answered before Blaine could say anything. The two boys looked at their driver with questioning looks. Wes kept his eyes on the road while he answered them. "Remember how I was looking through their videos? I finished going through all of them. I came across their mattress commercial. That old group of his really is something."

"I can't believe you actually went through all those videos," David's voice sounded amazed. "How much time do you have on your hands?"

"Shut up," Wes turned his head momentarily to glare at his friend. "But really, New Directions really is something. We might have to rethink our strategy for regionals if we want to beat them. They don't have the same tight vocals as we do, but they're definitely going to get extra points for their dancing. They have a larger selection of songs to choose from because they're all so diverse.

"Did you know that they did a mash-up of Singing in the Rain and Umbrella?" Wes continued conversationally. "They had water all over the stage and it splashed around with every step they took. There was even artificial rain falling down on them. They had umbrellas that they danced with and were all soaked by the end of it."

"Hmm, is there anything we have over them?" Blaine asked from the backseat.

"Well, they're predictable. From what I saw, they always use that short girl and that tall guy as their lead singers."

"They didn't use them during sectionals, though." David pointed out.

"Kurt did say that was surprising," Blaine added.

"Almost every video they had up there of group performances had those two singing the lead. So, if they continue that way, then we'll know who they're going to make sing during regionals. And, they also seem to have the same pattern for competing."

"What do you mean same pattern?"

"Remember how they performed in sectionals? And their performances from last year? It always starts with someone from the back, then towards the end of the song everyone will come out, then the group all sings a pretty fast upbeat song together."

"I see what you mean by predictable," David said quietly. "If they follow that pattern, we can probably find a way to beat them."

-.-.-.-.-

"Are we there yet?" David asked after they've been driving through Lima for a while.

"Kurt's house should be down this street," Blaine looked out the window and absentmindedly chewed on the chocolate bar he bought when they stopped at a store.

"I'm starving," David whined. Blaine looked to the front of the car to check the time. It was nearly noon. They've been driving for a little over five hours now and they were all pretty tired. They had stopped and switched drivers every hour so just to stop them from being completely bored.

"We'll go grab Kurt and then go find a place to eat then," Wes said calmly. He slowed the car down before pulling to a complete stop in front of a house. "This is the address."

"Yeah, I think this is his car," Blaine looked out the window. "That's his car in the driveway."

"Out we go!" David pushed open his door and jumped out. Blaine followed with a little less bounce. He stood in front of the door and just stretched his legs for a while. They were getting cramped from sitting for over an hour. Though, it was probably worse for Wes and David who had less space to stretch their legs in the front.

The three boys walked up to the front door and Wes rang the doorbell. They waited for a few minutes before a tall boy, who Blaine recognized as Finn, opened the door. His hair was a mess and his eyes looked hazy. It was evident that he just got out of bed.

"Hello," Finn said slowly as he looked at the three boys in front of his door. A spark of recognition lit up in his eyes when his gaze fell on Blaine. "You're Blaine, aren't you?"

"Nice to see you again, Finn." Blaine stepped forward and extended his hand out for a handshake.

"Finn, who's at the door?" A female voice called out from inside the house.

Finn turned back to answer. "Some guys from Kurt's school."

"Well, let them in!" The voice chided, causing the three Warblers to smile. "It's cold out there."

Finn moved out of the way and ushered the three boys inside. He led them to the living room where a blonde woman, Carole, if Blaine remembered correctly, walked in from what looked like the kitchen.

"Why, hello," She greeted them kindly. The three boys introduced themselves to her. "I'm afraid Kurt isn't here right now. He followed his dad to the shop."

"Oh," Blaine couldn't hide the disappointment in his voice.

"He was only supposed to be there for the morning," Carole added. "I'm sure he should be finishing up now. You guys can wait here if you like."

"We were actually supposed to see if Kurt wanted to go get some lunch with us," David told her in a polite voice.

"Oh, in that case, you could probably go to the shop and get him there. Hold on, I'll write the address down for you."

Before the boys could thank her, she walked into the kitchen in search of a pen and paper. This left the three Dalton boys with Finn, who looked a little alert now.

"So," Finn turned to Blaine. "You and Kurt…"

"Yeah…" Blaine smiled awkwardly. He hadn't counted on Kurt not being here. He wasn't really planning on talking much with his family.

"I know I already said this, but you better not hurt him," Finn said in a threatening voice.

"I promise I won't," Blaine said with a straight face. He didn't look at Wes and David but he could tell that they were both looking at him. The boys were saved from anymore possible awkwardness when Carole returned with a small slip of paper. She handed it to the three boys and they thanked her and made their way out of the house.

"Where does Kurt's dad work?" David asked as they all put their seatbelts on and Wes drove off.

"He fixes cars or something," Blaine answered. He pulled out his phone. Kurt had sent him a quick message when they began their drive to tell him good morning and that he was going to help his dad out and would text him again later. He had considered telling Kurt that they were coming over, but he decided it would be better as a surprise.

The drive wasn't too long. The three boys exited the car and entered the shop. Blaine saw Kurt's dad standing behind the counter, talking to a customer. They waited while the two talked and Blaine looked around the room. He saw the shelves stocked with various car parts. There was a door behind the counter, which probably led to the place where they worked on the cars. There was no sign of Kurt anywhere. Blaine assumed that he was probably filing papers or something in the back.

"Your Kurt's friend," Burt said to Blaine when the customer finally left.

"Yes, sir," Blaine answered politely. "These are my friends, Wes and David." The two boys smiled politely when they were addressed. "We were wondering if we could get Kurt and go out for lunch or something."

"I don't see why not," Burt said while he organized some papers on the counter. "I was closing the place for lunch soon anyway. I told Kurt he could leave after lunch. I just needed some extra help because one of my guys couldn't come in until the afternoon."

"Where is Kurt?" Wes asked politely.

"He's in the back finishing up some work," Burt pointed to the door Blaine had seen earlier. "You guys are welcome to go back there and look for him."

The three boys thanked the man and walked into the backroom. Blaine had been right with his assumptions. The door led to the garage where two cars were inside. The car closest to them had two middle-aged men working on it and Blaine could see someone leaning over, looking into the engine of another car, behind them. Blaine saw another door in the room. It was open and showed a small desk and some filing cabinets—an office most likely. But Kurt wasn't in there.

"Where is he?" David asked as he looked around the room.

"Kurt?" Wes called out.

The person working on the car by himself stood up and Blaine realized he was a lot smaller than the other two men in the room. Blaine practically felt his jaw hit the cold floor of the garage when the person in blue coveralls turned around.

"Oh my god, is that Kurt?" Wes asked from beside him.

Kurt headed their way. He moved his hair away from his face with one hand while he wiped the other one the leg of his coveralls. Blaine noticed a small smudge of oil on his pale face. He felt like swooning. Blaine had always figured that even though Kurt was attractive enough, he just wasn't his type. He liked masculine guys and Kurt was too much of a diva for that. But this…this was a side of Kurt he never would have imagined. It never would have even crossed his mind.

"What are you guys doing here?" Kurt asked when he reached the three boys.

"We came to visit you, of course!" David answered when he realized that Blaine was too busy drooling over the smaller boy to say anything.

"But don't you guys live like…five hours away?" Kurt looked around for a clock and saw that it was a few minutes past noon.

"Well, we knew that Blaine here wanted to see you," Wes grinned and nudged Blaine with his elbow. Blaine glared at him for interrupting a nice daydream he was having. "And David and I felt like hanging out with you so we decided a little road trip was in order."

"What are you guys doing _here_?" Kurt turned to Blaine, who still hadn't said anything. "I know I told you I was helping dad out this morning, but how did you even find the place?"

"We stopped by your house," Blaine answered after David subtly kicked his foot. "We thought you'd be home by then but your mom said you were here, so she gave us the address. Are you almost done?"

"Yeah, I'm starving," David added and Wes agreed. Kurt laughed at the three boys and started walking back to the car he had been working on. The Warblers exchanged a look before following him. Blaine noticed the other two men in the room giving them odd looks as they passed.

"I just had to change Mr. Morrison's oil," Kurt answered as he went back to leaning over the car. "I'm just about finish."

The three stood to the side and watched him finish up. Blaine could only stare in amazement as Kurt worked with precision. He had apparently done this before. Wes and David shared a grin when they noticed the rapt attention Blaine was giving Kurt. They haven't seen Blaine this interested in anyone in a long time.

-.-.-.-.-

After lunch, the four boys went back to Kurt's house. Finn was the only person home when they got there. The five boys decided to watch the movies that Wes happened to have in his car. They turned out to be a bunch of horror movies. Kurt spent most of the time hiding his face in Blaine's shoulder and trying to focus on anything other than what was happening on the screen.

Blaine had his arm wrapped around Kurt and held him in a tight embrace. He would smile down at the slender boy and occasionally plant a kiss on his face. Sometimes, he would even go as far as to brush their lips softly together. They still hadn't gone past simple pecks on the lips, and Blaine wasn't planning on doing that now with Finn in the room. The looks he saw the tall boy shooting him sometimes were a little unnerving.

Finn spent most of his time alternating between watching the movie, and glancing at Kurt and Blaine. He was glad to see Kurt happy. Even if the boy was cringing or looking on in disgust at what was happening on the screen, Finn saw a smile appear on his face and his eyes light up whenever Blaine would hold him tighter or kiss him softly. He had felt weird when he first saw Blaine kiss his brother, but he was slowly getting used to it. He also couldn't help smiling at how happy Kurt looked. He was glad that Kurt had Blaine, but at the same time, he kept a close eye on Blaine. He had failed Kurt before and it led to Kurt having to leave McKinley and everyone. But even if Kurt was at Dalton, he was going to do his job as both a friend and an older brother making sure that no one else could hurt him.

David watched the movie and occasionally commented on what was going on with Finn and Wes. In the time it took for Finn to switch movies, he glanced over at Blaine and Kurt, who were sitting across from him and Wes. He saw the look of happiness on Kurt's face whenever Blaine would kiss him and felt a pang of guilt surge through his body. When he had first come up with this bet with Wes, it had been just a game to him. He didn't even believe that the two would last the allotted three months. Blaine just wasn't the commitment type of guy if his past relationships were anything to judge by. But, David saw the small smile on Blaine's face right before he kissed Kurt. He knew that Blaine could act, but that smile _had_ to mean something, right?

Wes had already seen these movies, so he spent most of it people watching. Halfway through the first movie, Kurt had pulled out his phone and was texting someone. But, occasionally, the sounds of the movie would attract his attention, and he would watch with wide eyes, before something would happen and he would hide his face in Blaine's shoulder. Blaine would smile or laugh softly before hugging the boy or giving him a small peck. Wes watched the two interact with mild curiosity. They looked like a happy couple. They looked like they had been together for a while, not just a few days. And Blaine looked like he genuinely liked Kurt, not like someone who was only doing it to win some money. Wes caught David looking at Blaine and they both shared a look. David raised an eyebrow and nodded in Blaine's direction. He had noticed the same thing Wes did. Wes could only shrug in reply.

During the second movie, Wes paid some attention to Finn. He saw that the tall boy would occasionally look over at the couple on the couch. He saw the small smile on his face whenever he looked at Kurt. But then his gaze would turn to Blaine and he would glare slightly; he was obviously protective of Kurt. Wes remembered what Finn had told Blaine earlier when they had first arrived. He had a feeling that if things went bad with Kurt, Blaine would be in a lot of trouble with Finn and the rest of New Directions if those Facebook posts were anything to go by. Wes felt sorry for his friend, and decided that if that happened, he would be right there to help Blaine. After all, it was his and David's fault for suggesting the bet in the first place. He just hoped that no matter what happened, no one would be hurt too bad. He knew that if Kurt ever found out, he would be devastated. He clearly had it bad for Blaine. And, Blaine, he wasn't too sure about it now, but he had a feeling that Blaine might end up getting hurt in the end of all of this too. Wes silently cursed himself and David for coming up with this bet. It had been such a good idea in the beginning, it was just some fun they could have, but now, he wished he could take it back.

-.-.-.-.-

_Bleh. So, I apologize for this supersucky chapter. I know it isn't all that much. But it was my 4year anniversary with my boyfriend and I guess my mind was just on other things tee hee. I'm going to spend all of tomorrow morning reading the first part of The Agony and the Ecstasy for my art class. Then I have to fix up my sketch of the WWII memorial I had to look for and draw today, then discuss the symbolism behind it and I've got a couple of papers to write. Don't you just hate school? Lol. So I'll try to get another chapter up tomorrow night—I most likely will. I don't want to break my daily update streak because if I do, it may just take me forever to update. But, there's a chance the chapter will be a little short and most likely rushed/random/sucky like this one had been._

_Or, I could put off updating for a day or so to write out that drama-filled chapter that ties in with Silly Love Songs, which will probably be a little longer. What do you guys think?_

_Anyway, thanks for reading! Don't forget to drop me a review or something :) Suggestions for stuff Blaine 'discovers' are still welcome. I'm running out of ideas on that part so any help would be great. Your comments on the story are always nice to hear(read), too. _


	15. Chapter 15

_I can never thank you guys enough, seriously. Thanks for all the support you've given to me and this story._

-.-.-.-.-

"Is there something you want to tell us, Blaine?" David asked about an hour after they had left Lima. David had opted to drive while Wes sat on the passenger seat.

"What do you mean?"

"You were being extra cuddly with Kurt earlier," Wes pointed out. "You don't like him like that, do you? I thought you said he wasn't your type."

"I'm not," Blaine insisted. "I like him but only as a friend and nothing more."

"Do you think your feelings will ever change?"David glanced back at Blaine through the mirror as he drove.

"Doubt it," Blaine answered way too quickly. Wes and David exchanged a look, but left it at that.

"That's too bad," Wes said after a while.

"Why?" Blaine turned his attention from the passing cars to his friend.

"Well, if you actually liked him, we could call of this whole thing and I wouldn't feel so horrible when I see Kurt. But, since you apparently won't ever care for him like that, then you might as well stick it out. It wouldn't look too good if you suddenly broke up with him after like three days. And I'm sure he'd want some kind of explanation."

"And I saw the way his brother was looking at you and saw those comments from his friends," Wes added. "They seem really protective of him."

"Do you think they'd actually hurt him?" David asked.

"I don't know," Blaine answered honestly. "But I really don't want to find out."

"Well, whatever happens, we'll have your back," Wes told him.

"You better," Blaine snorted and looked out the window to hide the smile on his face. "You guys started this mess."

-.-.-.-.-.-

"It was great seeing you today," Kurt told him later that night when he called to tell him that he, Wes, and David made it home alright.

"It was good seeing you, too. I had a lot of fun." Blaine said sincerely. He really did like hanging out with Kurt.

"I did, too." Blaine could detect a small smile in Kurt's voice. "I didn't think we'd see each other during the break because of the distance between your place and mine."

"Well, I can't make it an everyday thing, but I can promise you that I'll visit you a couple more times before school starts."

"You should bring Wes and David again, too." Kurt added. "I think Finn likes them."

"I'll remember that."

Blaine thought of something that had been bugging him the entire drive back from Lima. "Hey, Kurt?"

"Yeah?"

"Are your friends always so protective of you? I kind of got the feeling that Finn didn't like me all that much."

"He's just in big brother mode," Kurt said in a tone that was slightly amused, but also a little annoyed sounding. "It's stupid really. I'm only a couple of months younger than him."

"What about the rest of your friends?" Blaine asked.

"Hmm? Oh! You're still worried about the comments from the guys, aren't you? I told you that you don't have to worry so much about that." Kurt told him in a reassuring voice.

Blaine piled his pillows against the wall his bed was against and leaned back on them. "I think it's normal to worry when I have your old glee club threatening me with bodily harm."

Kurt laughed softly over the phone before his tone became a little serious. "I think they want to make up for not noticing how bad the bullying was getting sooner."

"They don't have to worry about that happening to you now," Blaine told him firmly. "No one at Dalton is going to treat you the way those guys treated you at McKinley."

"I know," Kurt said softly. Blaine heard the sound of rustling paper coming from Kurt's end. "When I told them I was transferring, they all said that I didn't have to do that, that they'd do a better job protecting me." Kurt laughed. "They offered to form like a barrier around me."

Blaine chuckled at how stupid the idea sounded, but at the same time, it was nice of Kurt's friends to offer him that kind of protection. "That should have been interesting."

"It should have been. But I doubt it would have done much. They can't be with me _all_ the time. And I didn't want them to get caught between me and those stupid jocks. It was bad enough that Sam got a black eye because of me. I didn't want anyone else to get hurt."

"Sam got a black eye?"

"Yeah. The guys all decided to confront Karofsky and tell him to back off. The Neanderthal pushed Mike into Artie, the guy in the wheelchair, and knocked him over. Puck couldn't do anything because he's on probation, but Sam stepped in and started to attack Karofsky. He got a few hits in, but Karofsky is a lot bigger."

"Where did all of this happen?" Worry started to build up in Blaine. He didn't know Sam that well, even though he had been at Dalton last year. They had a class or two together, but they never really talked. But, what he did remember was that Sam was on a couple sports teams, and could probably take Blaine in a fight.

"The locker room," Kurt answered; he was unaware of Blaine's sudden panicking. "They got into a fight after football practice or something."

"Didn't anyone stop them?"

"The coach came in after a while, I think. I wasn't there and I wasn't really paying attention to them when they were telling the girls what happened. I had other things on my mind."

"Oh, I see. So what are your plans for New Years?" His thoughts were starting to worry him so much so Blaine thought it would be better to just change the subject.

"Nothing, really," Kurt answered softly. Blaine could hear a door slamming in the background and Kurt greeting someone. Finn had probably come back. "It's our first New Year's as a family so I guess we're spending it together, just the four of us. What are you doing?"

"That sounds nice. Well, the holidays are the only times I really see my family. Someone hosts a small party for each major holiday every year. This year, my parents got New Years."

"That sounds like fun."

"Not really," Blaine said disdainfully. "My family can get a little annoying sometimes, especially my little cousins. I'm just glad that it's not limited to relatives only and we can invite friends over."

"Oh, are Wes and David going to be there, then?"

"I think Wes has something. But David and his family have lived next door to mine since before I was born, so they'll probably be here. I wish you could come."

"I wish I could, too." The line went silent for a while. "Have you ever had a New Years kiss?"

"What makes you ask that?" Blaine quirked an eyebrow at the sudden question.

"I was just curious," Blaine could practically see Kurt shrugging. "It's like kissing in the rain or under the stars. It's probably cheesy and cliché, but it's something I've wanted to try. So have you?"

"Yeah," Blaine answered quietly. An idea started forming in his mind. "I was dating this boy last year. The party was at my uncle's place and his parents were friends with my uncle, so he was there."

"Oh." Kurt's voice sounded different now.

"It didn't really mean anything," Blaine answered quickly. He didn't know why, but he wanted to reassure Kurt. "Our families didn't know we were dating at the time—I don't think he was out to his family yet—so it was just a quick peck in the corner of a dark hallway."

After that, Blaine changed the subject onto something happier, like how he had wanted to strange Wes and David after two hours of driving and listening to them discuss various dance moves they could try out of the Warblers. They talked late into the night. There were even times where Kurt or Blaine would nod off for a moment, but they kept insisting on talking. They talked about anything and everything that came to mind. The only reason they decided to hang up was because Kurt had yawned about five times in ten minutes, and Blaine's phone was about ready to die.

-.-.-.-.-

Kurt spent the rest of the week before New Year's hanging out with his friends from New Directions and helping his dad out at his shop. He and Blaine would exchange a few text messages throughout the day if they weren't too busy and would talk either on the phone or over Skype every night before bed. But, they hadn't seen each other yet. Blaine had yet to come visit him again, but Kurt understood. The holidays were family time. But he did miss his boyfriend.

"Boy, you've got it bad," Mercedes told him the morning of New Year's Eve when they went out for coffee. "You've been dating a week."

"I know," Kurt blushed softly and took a sip of his drink. "But I've been crushing on for months and I knew he liked me back. And when he _finally_ asks me out, we have to spend two weeks apart."

"But it was nice of him to drive all the way to see you," Tina spoke up from next to Mercedes.

"Next time he comes with his prep school friends, you should totally invite us over," Santana spoke up.

"Yeah, why did Finn get to hang out with him, but I still haven't met your boyfriend in person?" Mercedes said in a slightly offended voice. "I'm your best friend!"

Kurt laughed at the chorus of agreement that went through the girls around him. He loved bonding with the New Directions girls. "I promise that the next time he comes over, I'll make sure you guys all get to meet him."

"Too bad he's gay," Santana commented after a while. "He was all kinds of sexy at sectionals."

"Does he give you sweet dolphin kisses?" Brittany asked suddenly. All the girls turned to Kurt, who blushed furiously.

"We haven't exactly done much," Kurt cleared his voice and looked at each of the girls. "It's just been a few pecks. Like I said, we haven't seen each other much since he asked me out."

"That wouldn't have stopped me," Santana said bluntly.

"We're not all like you, Santana," Rachel rolled her eyes at the girl and took a sip of her drink.

"How's he treating you, anyway?" Tina Quinn.

"He's a completely gentleman," Kurt answered with a small smile.

Kurt went back home after hanging out with the girls all morning. They all had to get back home to help their families prepare for later that night. Kurt sent a text to Blaine and then went to his room. He got on his laptop and talked to Blaine on Skype for a while before Blaine had to go help his parents get set up for their New Year's party. Kurt waved goodbye to Blaine, then shut off his laptop. He stretched then climbed the stairs to the kitchen so he could help Carole prepare dinner.

He didn't have much of a chance to talk to Blaine that night because the other boy was probably busy entertaining family. So, Kurt spent the night curled up on the couch, watching movies with his family and talking about what was going on with each other lives. It was nothing extravagant, just a simple night at home with the family, but Kurt hadn't felt this happy since his mom died. He missed her like crazy and she was always going to have a place in his heart, but it felt great having Finn and Carole.

_Happy New Year! :) xoxo_. Kurt smiled down at the message Blaine had sent him at midnight and replied with a similar greeting. After replying to all his other messages, he decided that there really wasn't a point in staying up anymore—his dad, Carole, and Finn were all immersed in some murder mystery thing that was showing now —so he went down to his room to get ready for bed.

Kurt woke up to the sound of Finn snoring in the bed across the room. He took his phone off his bedside table and saw a few more messages from last night, but there was nothing else from Blaine. 'He's probably asleep', Kurt thought to himself. Kurt got up, made his bed, and went upstairs. The house was quiet. His dad and Carole were obviously still asleep. Kurt checked the time and saw that it was 10AM.

He went into the kitchen and made himself a pot of coffee. Once the liquid warmed his body enough, he started making breakfast for everyone. Kurt had learned to cook at an early age. He always loved helping his mom in the kitchen when he was younger, and after she passed away, he learned to cook for himself and for his dad because his dad was just hopeless behind the stove. But, he found himself actually liking to cook.

Once he finished eating, he went back downstairs to shower. He really had nothing else to do and he was bored with everyone else asleep. After he showered and got changed, he organized his things and flipped through some of his magazines. It was nearing noon and Finn was still out cold. Kurt had heard movement upstairs, and went up to see Carole getting herself some breakfast. She thanked him for cooking, and then made an extra plate to take upstairs to Burt.

Kurt decided to stay in the living room to watch TV. He draped his legs over the arms of the couch and let out a bored sigh. It seemed like everyone was still asleep. It was probably his fault for going to sleep so early, but really, what did he have to stay up for? Kurt wondered if Blaine was still asleep. He probably was since he hadn't replied to any of Kurt's messages and Blaine usually replies as soon as he can. He must have had a fun time at his party last night.

The sound of his doorbell going off broke him out of his thoughts. He got off of the bed and made his way to the door. Who would be coming over? He opened the door and his eyes bulged out when he saw a grinning Blaine standing in front of him.

"Happy New Year," Blaine grinned up at him.

"H—Happy New Year," Kurt responded. "What are you doing here?"

"I thought you'd be happy to see me," Blaine said with mock hurt in his voice.

"I am happy!" Kurt quickly amended. He moved out of the way so Blaine could enter his house. They made their way to the living room and sat down on the couch Kurt had been laying down on earlier. "But, I didn't know you were coming here today. I thought you said New Year was family time?"

"Last night was family time," Blaine corrected. He wrapped an arm around Kurt's shoulders and gave him a one-armed hug. "Where's the rest of your family?"

"They're still asleep," Kurt answered. He leaned into Blaine's touch and smiled softly. "So what brings you here? Shouldn't you be asleep too? You were up pretty late last night."

"I wanted to give you something."

Blaine shifted a little so that he was facing Kurt. He had one hand resting lightly on Kurt's knee, and the other reached up and lifted Kurt's chin slightly.

"What are you—" Kurt's question was cut off by Blaine, who had leaned forward and pressed their lips together. Kurt moved his lips against Blaine's. He enjoyed the feeling of the other boy's soft lips over his. The hand on his knee reached up to cup the other side of his face. Kurt felt something slide across his bottom lip and he gasped when he realized that it was Blaine's tongue. With his lips parted from that gasp, Blaine let his tongue slip into Kurt's mouth.

Kurt hesitantly moved his tongue against Blaine's. This was his first real kiss. The one with Karofsky didn't count and he and Blaine had only ever pecked each other on the lips before. But this, this kiss was something different. It felt amazing. He didn't see any fireworks like those cheesy romance films said he would. But, the butterflies in his stomach were throwing a riot and his chest felt light and he felt warm all over. Everything he was feeling was definitely a lot better than seeing fireworks.

When Blaine pulled away, Kurt opened his eyes slowly. Blaine smiled brightly at him. "Happy New Year, Kurt."

"That was—" Kurt sputtered. He was still coming down from the high of his first real kiss and his thoughts were a little incoherent.

"I know it isn't a kiss at the stroke of midnight, but _technically_, it's still New Year's. So, I guess this could count as a New Year kiss, right?"

-.-.-.-.-.-

The huge smile that broke out on Kurt's face told Blaine that he had done the right thing. When Kurt had told him that he had wanted a New Year's kiss, Blaine started getting ideas. He didn't get to sleep until around 2 in the morning, but he was still up and ready to drive at 8. The drive wasn't as long as it usually was because everyone was still asleep. He still wasn't sure what possessed him to come here and do this, but the smile on Kurt's face and the way his eyes lit up told him it was worth it.

-.-.-.-.-

_Guess what I just found out. All the work I was worrying about getting done? It isn't due for another week. Don't you hate when you work like crazy on something, only to realize that you read the date wrong and you didn't have to rush it?_

_I don't know if finding out that the guy's confronted Karofsky counts as an interesting fact about Kurt, but I couldn't find anything else that would fit into this chapter. I guess he finds out that Kurt has protective friends? o.O Yeah. Haha._

_A bunch of you have asked why they don't just call off the bet. I hope this chapter answered that. Blaine's having a hard time accepting that he could possibly care about Kurt as more than a friend. He's stubborn and convinced that Kurt isn't his type. Stupid boy. tsk tsk. And, if I made them call if off now, it'll probably defeat the purpose of the story. But don't worry, I have something in mind for what's going to happen with the trio and this bet. They'll be less douchey later. _

_Anyway, I actually hadn't planned on writing this when I was working out the next chapters, but I read this story on the glee angst meme. It's called __**Down Where the World is Ending**__. It's such a great story but it was so sad. I was tearing up a lot. You guys should check it out if you don't mind a sad story. Kurt has Huntington's disease. The story was just so sad that I needed to write a little sweet klaine bit t make myself feel better. Lol. _


	16. Chapter 16

_Waa, thanks so much guys. Every review, no matter how long or short or whatever, always brings a smile to my face—no lie :)_

_Also, I may stop following the show after a Silly Love Song or Blame it on the Alcohol. I can make small references to it here and there, but I'll probably have to using actual scenes from it because I feel like the show will go on a totally different path from my story. But, it all depends. We'll see how the show goes._

-.-.-.-.-

"So, remind us again why we're going to Lima?" Wes asked from Blaine's backseat. It was the Friday before classes started up again and they were all heading to Lima in Blaine's car.

"Because Kurt's friends want to meet me," Blaine answered while he kept his eyes on the road.

"But why do we have to go?" David asked from the passenger seat.

"I don't want to be alone with Kurt's friends. It'll be too awkward. So I have you guys to help make it less awkward," Blaine reasoned. "And, one of his friends wanted me to bring some more 'prep school boys' because apparently it isn't fair that Kurt is keeping them all to himself."

"Which friend?" David asked with mild curiosity.

"Um, Santana," Blaine tried to remember everything Kurt had told him last night. "She was the one who sang that second song at sectionals. She's a cheerleader."

"A cheerleader, you say?" Wes perked up, sounding mildly interested.

"What happened to Stacey?" David asked him.

Wes shrugged. "She's being so complicated right now. She's always made about something or another. I don't think we've gone a single day these past two weeks without getting into an argument."

"This is why falling in love is stupid," Blaine commented.

"It's not that bad," David interjected. "Ash and I are doing great."

Blaine rolled his eyes even though his friends couldn't seem it. "Wes and Stacey were 'doing great' a month ago. And before Ash you were with that Jenny girl and you claimed to be madly in love with her before it ended in the ugliest break up ever, remember?"

"Oh yeah," David winced at the memory.

"This is why I don't believe in love," Blaine said in a firm voice. David glanced back and looked at Wes. No words were shared between the two but they were thinking the same thing. They had discussed this after they got back from Lima the first time. Blaine may refuse to believe that he could harbor feelings for Kurt, but they could see it whenever he spent time with the younger boy. Blaine will be a believer soon enough.

-.-.-.-.-

Blaine and his two friends entered Breadsticks and searched for Kurt. He couldn't see the boy anywhere. His eyes looked to the back of the room, where there was a rather large group of people sitting together. Blaine recognized Finn and the blonde girl who calls Kurt 'baby', Brittany among the people.

"There they are," He led his friends to where the group was seated. The girl Blaine recognized as Rachel was the first to notice them. She stood up and stuck her hand out for him to shake.

"I'm Rachel," She smiled at each of them. "Kurt's told us a lot about you."

"All good things I hope," Blaine replied with a smile of his own and he shook her hand. Everyone in the group took their turns introducing themselves to the three new boys. Blaine shook hands with each person. He noticed that the boys seemed to grip his hand tighter than usual while they gave him questioning looks. Blaine kept the smile on his face and silently hoped that none of the guys realized that they were making him nervous.

"Where's Kurt?" Wes asked once the introductions were done. The three Warblers took their seats and Blaine noticed the flirtatious looks the Latina girl, Santana, was giving his friend. David had struck up a conversation with the guy in the wheel chair, Artie—Blaine had gone through all of their names with Kurt last night—about a cappella music.

"Baby went to the bathroom," The blonde, Brittany, answered.

"He wanted to fix his hair or something before you came," Mercedes said with a playful roll of her eyes.

"Why do you call him baby?" Wes asked. Blaine noticed that the Santana girl had moved closer to him and one leg was dangerously close to being on top of Wes's.

"Because he has baby hands," Brittany answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Baby…hands?" David asked slowly. He turned to Blaine, would only shrug in response. He had no idea what that meant.

"Have you given Kurt sweet dolphin kisses yet?" Brittany turned to Blaine she asked the question. Mercedes, Quinn, Tina, and Rachel giggled at the question. Brittany looked expectant. Santana quirked an eyebrow and gave him a small smirk; the look clearly said 'well did you?'. Finn and Puck gave him looks that made him feel intimidated, though he wasn't quite sure why. Artie was giving Brittany an incredulous look; Mike looked torn between amused curiosity, and giving him a small glare like Puck and Finn. And Sam, well, Sam looked just as confused as he felt. And Wes and David had looks that were a mix of confusion and amusement. They seemed to be enjoying how everyone had suddenly put Blaine on the spot.

"I leave for five minutes and you guys all turn on my boyfriend," A voice from behind Blaine stopped him from answering.

"Kurt!" Blaine stood up and smiled at him. He had never felt more relieved to see Kurt than he did in this one moment. The glare Kurt had been giving his friends disappeared when he looked at Blaine. Kurt stepped towards the empty seat next to Blaine. Blaine moved the chair back so Kurt could sit down, before taking his seat again. He heard a Quinn and Rachel go on about how he was such a gentleman and saw Puck roll his eyes.

"So, Kurt," David said with a small grin. "What exactly are sweet dolphin kisses?"

"They're like sweet lady kisses," Brittany supplied. "Except with dolphins."

Her explanation just made Blaine even more confused. He turned to the slender boy beside him. Kurt only snorted in amusement and reached across the table to take hold of Brittany's hand and give it light squeeze. "Thanks for answering that for me, boo."

Brittany gave him a bright, proud looking smile that only made Kurt and a few other people laugh. The three Warblers just felt even more confused.

"How about we order?" Kurt suggested. Everyone happily agreed. Finn called over a waiter.

"What exactly was that about?" Blaine asked quietly while everyone discussed what they were going to order.

"Britt takes a little getting used to." Kurt explained. He read the menu over Blaine's shoulder.

"I still don't get it," David still looked confused. "What the hell's a dolphin kiss?"

"A dolphin is just a gay shark," Santana answered from next to Wes.

"A gay shark?" Wes looked up from his menu to stare at Santana. "What does that have to do with Kurt and Blaine?"

"A dolphin is basically someone who's gay," the girl answered. "It was something she thought up of when we were out with Finn last year and it kind of stuck."

After Breadsticks, everyone went to Kurt's house to hang out. Finn had set up his video games and they all helped Artie down to the basement and started on a little Call of Duty tournament. Wes and David clicked with them almost instantly after that. There was nothing like a good video game to bring guys together. Blaine was torn between going down to hang out with the guys (he did like COD) or staying upstairs with Kurt.

"Go," Kurt had told him. He and the girls had made themselves comfortable on the couches in the living room. "Once we get done talking we'll probably just head down there anyway."

"Alright," Blaine grinned at Kurt and left for the basement. As he left, he heard the girls begin to gossip about something. It was times like this where Blaine wondered if he could last three months with Kurt. He acted like such a girl sometimes and that wasn't what Blaine was looking for in a romantic relationship with a guy. But then, he remembered the little things about Kurt; his sarcastic remarks and his sharp wit, his wonderful singing voice, the fact that he fixes cars, and can't help but to be intrigued by him.

Kurt had once told him that he was breaking the gay stereotype by being a big sports fan. But if Blaine had to say anything about that, he would have to say that it was _Kurt_ who was breaking the gay stereotype. Sure, he was your typical gay guy with his fashion savvy, flashy clothes, and bitchy attitude. But he used to be on a football team—and even though it was just one game, it was the _only_ game they won that season—and he thinks it's fun to work on cars. And, Blaine had a feeling that there were still some things about that Kurt that he still hadn't figured out seeing as the boy seemed to just be full of surprises.

"Didn't stay upstairs for the girl talk?" Puck asked while everyone watched Wes and Mike play against each other.

"It's not really my thing," Blaine answered. He found an empty space on the floor next to Sam where he could sit. "Being gay doesn't mean you're just like a girl, you know."

"I guess we know who the man in the relationship is," David said with a teasing grin.

"Speaking of which," Puck turned his attention from the screen to face Blaine. "I know I said this before, but you hurt my boy and I'll hurt you. Got it?"

"Why are you so protective of him?" Blaine found himself asking before he could stop himself. Puck gave him a questioning look and Blaine swallowed his nervousness and continued. "I mean, I get why you guys are so protective of him. But you and Finn are more so than the others. I kind of understand Finn because he and Kurt are brothers now. But what about you? From what I heard from Kurt, the two of you were never close."

Blaine heard the game stop as all the boys looked at Puck, waiting for his answer.

"I was one of his bullies," Puck admitted slowly. He sounded guilty. "I was always the one who threw him into dumpsters and stuff. I stopped after I joined glee club because while he can be a total bitch sometimes, he's actually a cool guy. And it pisses me off that someone messed with him and I couldn't do anything about it before it was too late. What I did to him was bad, but he never once thought about transferring. He always took it with and shook it off. Whatever Karofsky did to him really messed him up."

"Yeah," Mike put down his controller and spoke up. "I knew he was getting picked on and stuff—we all were—but I didn't think it would be _that_ bad that he had to transfer."

"Quinn told me that Kurt was different this year," Sam said slowly. "I didn't know him last year so I really couldn't say anything. The Kurt I knew was always sarcastic, cold, and seemed to keep to himself most of the time. And he always looked bored or uninterested."

"He never used to be like that," Artie added. "I wonder what happened. Why didn't he tell any of us? We could have stepped in before it got too bad."

"Kurt didn't like to tell anyone about it," Finn spoke up. Blaine glanced at Wes and David. They were all listening intently. They had all heard the stories about the bullying from Kurt, but it was different hearing it from someone else. Kurt had always made it sound like it wasn't a big deal, but Blaine could practically see the anger rolling off these guys. "I didn't even know that Karofsky threatened his life until Burt forced it out of him."

"What?" Seven voices shouted in unison.

"That bastard threatened his life?" Puck growled.

"Why didn't he tell anyone?" Artie asked.

"I should have hit him harder," Sam's hands tightened into fists.

Blaine could only stare in shock. Kurt had never told him that his life was threatened. But now, the emergency transfer that Dalton accepted made sense. He had always assumed that Kurt transferred because Karofsky freaked him out after he kissed him, but now Blaine understood why Kurt had been so scared. Blaine's fists tightened in his lap. He could feel his finger nails digging into his palm. He looked at his two friends and saw that they were also angered by what they heard. Bullying was one thing, but threatening a life? That was too much.

"Was that before or after the locker room incident?" Blaine asked before he could stop himself. He didn't seem to have control of his mouth today.

"Locker room incident?" The boys turned to Blaine who shifted uncomfortably.

"What happened?" Finn said in a dark voice when it looked like Blaine wasn't going to say anything.

"Kurt went to confront him," Blaine answered slowly. He felt Wes and David looking at him. He hadn't told them this particular story. "And Karofsky kissed him."

"What?" A collective roar erupted from the rest of the boys in the room, even Wes and David.

"When I get my hands on him…" Puck cracked his knuckles. The rest of the boys had dark looks on their faces and all their hands were clenched in tight fists. Blaine found himself fearing for his life if they ever found out about the bet. He didn't have to look at Wes and David to know that they had similar thoughts about that.

"What's going on down here?" A voice from the stairs broke all the boys from their angry thoughts. They looked to the stairs to see the girls and Kurt standing at the top, looking at them all with matching faces of confusion. Kurt had been the one who spoke. "Why do you all look like you're ready to break out the guns and reenact that game?"

The boys all exchanged a look. They all silently agreed not to bring it up with the girls. Kurt probably wouldn't have appreciated Finn and Blaine letting everyone know. Blaine stood up and met Kurt at the foot of the stairs. He pulled the smaller boy (he was still smaller than Blaine, even though he was just a _little_ taller) into his arms and hugged him tightly. Kurt looked surprised but returned the hug.

"Okay, really, what's going here?" Kurt asked when he pulled out of Blaine's embrace.

"Nothing," Blaine did his best to give Kurt a smile that didn't show up surprised he had been with what he had just heard. "Just guys being guys."

Then, he moved forward and kissed Kurt. He didn't care that everyone was watching them. He ignored all the 'awws' from the girls and Brittany's excited squeal about dolphins, or the encouraging whoops from Wes and David. All that mattered right now was that he made Kurt feel good. Kurt had gone through way too much already.

Once the girls came down to the basement, the guys stopped playing video games and decided to watch movies from Kurt and Finn's collections. They were halfway through RENT when the door opened and Burt stuck his head inside. "Hey kiddo, I got something for you."

"What is it?" Kurt stood up from where he had been sitting in the middle of Mercedes and Blaine. He was glad that with the way everyone was sitting, his dad couldn't have seen that he and Blaine were holding hands.

Burt stepped into the room and climbed down the stairs. He held a package in his hands. "This was supposed to be your Christmas present, but it took a while to get here. I know how much you like these things."

"Thanks, dad," Kurt took the package from his dad. "Are you going back to the shop?"

"Yup, it's a little busy today. I'll be back by dinner."

"Don't work too hard!" Kurt called after his retreated father. He took the package and went back to his seat.

"What's that?" Blaine took his eyes away from the screen and looked at the package Kurt held in his lap.

"I don't know yet," Kurt responded as he began tearing away at the wrapping. Kurt let out an excited squeal when he finally opened the box. Blaine looked over Kurt's shoulder and into the box. His eyes bulged out when he saw two knife-looking objects in the box.

"Kurt, what are those?" Blaine asked. Kurt set the box down on the floor in front of him and pulled out the two knife things.

"I didn't think he'd actually get me these," Kurt said with a small smile.

"Whoa, what are those?" Puck looked at the two metal objects in Kurt's hands in shock. Blaine looked around the room and saw that the only ones who didn't' seem surprised were Finn and Mercedes.

"Isn't that from Elektra?" Sam asked.

Kurt nodded. "They're sai swords."

"And what are you doing with them?" Wes eyed the swords in Kurt's hands.

"Are you a ninja?" Brittany looked at Kurt with wide eyes.

"Sort of?" Kurt answered with a small shrug. "We were watching an old ninja movie one night and I wanted to try these things out. I've been hinting at wanting a new pair, but I didn't think they'd actually get it for me."

Kurt spun the swords expertly between his fingers, much to everyone's amazement. Blaine stared at the boy with wide eyes and his mouth slightly open. He was still seated on the floor so he was just leisurely spinning the swords in his hand.

"Where'd you learn to use those?" Sam asked.

"I teach myself," Kurt answered. He put the swords back in the box and set them aside. "I usually just watch a few videos and stuff and try to copy it."

"He's actually pretty good," Finn commented. He reached over to press play. They had put the video on pause when Kurt opened his package.

"Except for that time he let it fly and broke a lamp," Mercedes added with a small laugh. Everyone went back to watching the movie except Blaine. He really did love RENT, but he could only stare at Kurt in wonder right now.

-.-.-.-

Kurt rested his head on his hand and let out a soft sigh. School had started up again, and he was sitting in his Trigonometry class, waiting for it to start. The sound of someone clearing their voice made him turn to the side. A blonde boy stood there, looking at Kurt with an awkward smile on his face. He looked to be about taller than Kurt with dirty blonde hair and gray eyes.

"Hi," The boy said in a shy sounding voice. "Can I sit here?"

"Sure," Kurt moved his stuff on the table closer to him so the boy could sit down beside him. "Did you change periods?"

"No, actually. I just transferred this term. I'm Tyler," The boy held his hand out for Kurt to shake. Kurt smiled and shook it.

"Kurt." Kurt smiled at the boy who looked around the room nervously. "I'm pretty new here, too. I transferred in the middle of term last semester."

"How is it?" Tyler smiled softly at Kurt.

"It took a little getting used to," Kurt shrugged. "But it's pretty good, now."

The bell rang that signified the start of the class. Kurt and Tyler turned to face the board. Kurt diligently took notes and paid close attention to every word his teacher said. If he had paid attention to anything else, he would have probably noticed all the interested looks Tyler kept shooting his way.

-.-.-.-.-

_I always wondered what it would be like if Blaine met Brittany. I just love her one-liners. I wish I could come up with something as awesome as what she says. Also, I didn't put Lauren into the ND meets Blaine scene in the beginning because I don't think she and Kurt are very close. I mean, she didn't join until AFTER he left, and I doubt she'd care enough to want to meet Blaine. Also, I know NOTHING about COD. Just that all my guy friends are obsessed with it._

_This chapter came out longer than I expected. The ND meeting Blaine thing just got away from me and spouted out on its own. Hope you guys don't mind._

_I fell just a little bit more in love with Chris Colfer when I saw him and those sai swords. I just HAD to add it into this story. _

_ANYWAY, this wasn't how this chapter was supposed to go. I was actually going briefly mention the super bowl episode then go on to the valentines right after the Blaine meets ND thing, but then __**klainbrittanalove**__and I got to talking and a whole new path opened for this story. Now I know which direction I'm going to with this and I've already planned out the next few chapters. So, this chapter was a bit of a filler to help introduce Tyler into the story._

_The next chapter will be better, I promise :)_

_Now, I'm off to bed. And, gasp I'm going to bed before midnight :O that hasn't happened in a long time. But, I'm feeling horrible. I've been coughing on and off for a while and now I just feel horrible. I'm going to go sleep it off._

_Good night/morning all._


	17. Chapter 17

_Let me start by saying that I'm glad you guys responded well to Tyler. I wasn't sure how you guys were going to take him. A few of you have thrown guesses to why Tyler is here, and I'm not going to deny or confirm anything—just know that Tyler is going to be pretty important to this story. _

_I got another idea for a klaine story! I've been itching to write it all day, but I'm putting it on hold because if I start that, I may slack off with this one xD I'll just write it whenever I finish this. I made sure to jot the idea down and everything so I don't forget. _

_Once again, thanks for all the reviews guys :D I'm almost at three hundred and that just makes me feel warm and giddy inside—okay, maybe that was a little too corny for my tastes, but it really does make me feel happy XD_

-.-.-.-

"Thinking of joining something?" A voice made Tyler turn from the bulletin board filled with flyers he was looking at. He smiled when he saw Kurt standing behind him with a small smile on his face.

"My parents think it'll help me adjust better if I joined a club or something. You know, get to meet some people and all that junk." Tyler rolled his eyes.

"They have a point," Kurt stepped forward so he was right beside him. "Were you on any teams or clubs at your old school?"

"I was on the soccer team," Tyler answered. He hoped that Kurt didn't detect the bitterness in his voice.

"My roommate Trent is on the soccer team here," Kurt turned to smile brightly at him. "I can ask him if they're having tryouts any time soon if you want."

"Thanks, but I don't know if I want to do soccer," Tyler said solemnly. He glanced at Kurt out of the corner of his eye. The shorter boy had gone back to looking at the fliers. "Are you in any clubs?"

"I'm on the Warblers," Kurt responded with a small smile.

"The…Warblers?" Tyler took a moment to wonder what the hell that was.

"It's the glee club here. You know, show choir?" Kurt said with a small laugh. "I guess the name _is_ a little funny. But I was in glee at my old school and I loved it, so I joined here. I met a bunch of nice guys there, actually."

"Really?" Tyler couldn't keep the interest out of his voice.

"Do you sing?" Kurt seemed to have noticed the tone in his voice.

"A little," Tyler said with a small blush on his face. "I don't think I'm any good, though. It's usually just my family making me sing at gatherings and stuff. They're crazy about karaoke."

"Warblers are holding auditions soon, why don't you try?" Kurt asked.

"I don't know…"

"You should!" Kurt beamed at him. The bell rang, signaling the end of the ten minute break between second and third period. The two boys started walking down the hall. "The Warblers can be a little strict and uptight sometimes, but they're great guys overall."

"I'll think about it." Tyler pulled his schedule out of his bag.

"What's your next class?" Kurt asked.

"Government," Tyler answered with a small grimace.

"I'm not that fond of that subject either," Kurt stopped at the end of the hall. "Well, your government class is that way," Kurt pointed to the left. "I'm heading right. So maybe I'll see you around later?"

"Thanks," Tyler put his schedule back into his bag. "And yeah, I'll see you around."

"Think about the Warblers!" Kurt said as he walked away.

"I will," Tyler laughed as he headed for his next class.

-.-.-.-

"Hey," Blaine caught up to Kurt a few doors down from their French class. "I was looking for you during break, where were you?"

Kurt leaned in to peck him on the cheek. "I bumped into this new kid from my Trig class and we got to talking. I told him to audition for the Warblers."

"He should," Blaine commented. "The more voices we have, the better, right?"

"Yeah, but if he gets in, hopefully Wes won't give him a hard time." Kurt made a face as he remembered his first Warblers' practice.

Blaine chucked and held the door open for Kurt before walking in after him. "Wes was only like that because sectionals were only a few weeks away. We've still got a few months until regionals."

"What about regionals?" Wes asked when Kurt and Blain took their seats and their table.

"Kurt's trying to get some new kid to audition for the Warblers," Blaine answered.

"Is he any good?" Wes turned to Kurt who only shrugged.

"I haven't heard him sing. I just met him today. But he seemed interested when I mentioned it."

"Well, tell him that auditions are next week Friday if he's interested."

"Did we have some people sign up for auditions already?" David asked.

"I think I saw two names on there," Wes managed to get out before their teacher came in and started the class. After class, Kurt felt his phone vibrate with a new message. He pulled it out and opened a text from Mercedes.

_Football team in glee._ Kurt stared at the short message in confusion. What did that mean exactly? He sent her a single question mark in response.

"What's up?" Blaine nudged Kurt's shoulder. Kurt only handed his phone over. Blaine read the message and turned questioning eyes to him.

"What does that mean?"

"No idea,"

Blaine looked down when Kurt heard his phone buzz. Blaine handed the phone back to him. "You got another message."

Kurt took his phone back and hurriedly opened the message.

_Football team joined glee club for a week. Puck & Rachel sang. Big fight broke out. _Kurt nearly dropped his phone after the first sentence. He stopped walking, causing Wes, who had been walking with David behind him and Blaine, to crash into him.

"What's wrong?" Blaine asked with a worried expression on his face.

"The football team joined glee club," Kurt said with disbelief.

"What's wrong with that?" David asked. "Aren't all the New Directions guys on the football team?"

"Remember how I said glee club is the bottom of the social ladder?" They started for the dining hall again. "Well, the football team and the Cheerios are on the top. The football team was the ones that usually threw the slushies."

"But more than half of New Directions is either on the football team or the Cheerios," Blaine pointed out.

"And the guys get a hard time from the rest of the team," Kurt shrugged. "And no one will dare mess with the Cheerios unless they wanted the wrath of Sue Sylvester to come down on them. The only time I went a day without getting slushied or slammed into a locker was when I was in my Cheerios uniform."

"Your old school is really weird," Wes said bluntly. Kurt snorted. The four walked into the dining hall and got into line for food.

"Didn't you say the football team made it to the finals this season?" Blaine changed the subject.

"It's their first time in forever," Kurt nodded. "Finn wants me to go down to Lima to watch his game."

"Are you going to?" Kurt thought he saw a spark of interest in Blaine's eyes.

"I'm not that fond of football," Kurt answered. "But I probably will. You know, to support Finn and all."

"I can go with you if you want," Blaine offered. Kurt rolled his eyes. His boyfriend could be a bit of a dork when it came to football.

"I'll let you know when I decide," Kurt answered.

-.-.-.-

The first thing Blaine noticed about Kurt when he walked into Warblers practice was that he had a frown on his face. He walked up to the younger boy and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "What's with the face? Mr. Garrison didn't give you hard time in class, did he?"

"No, it's not that." Kurt answered with a small smile. "I finally got to talk to Mercedes after class. Everything sounds so messed up over there right now."

"How so?" Blaine maneuvered Kurt into an empty seat and sat down beside him.

"Coach Beiste forced all the guys to join glee club because they thought it would put an end to the fighting that's been going on lately. Then they wouldn't let Ms. Sylvester shoot Brittany out of a cannon so she got all mad and moved nationals to the same day as the big game, so the Cheerios won't be performing for the halftime show. So New Directions and the football team were supposed to perform during half time but then the football team got slushied by the hockey team and the guys freaked out so they got kicked off the football team and now everyone is all messed up."

"Football team? Cannon? What?" Blaine was surprised Kurt had managed to say that all in one breath, but he had absolutely no idea what was going on.

"I don't even know," Kurt sighed. "Rachel and Mercedes want to meet for coffee later."

"Want me to take you?" Blaine asked

"Can you?" Kurt pleaded. "I don't think I can handle a hysterical Rachel and Mercedes on my own."

"Of course,"

Wes chose that moment to start the practice. Blaine stood and left the room to wait for his cue. Kurt pulled out his sheet music and waited. Everyone started with their parts and Kurt quickly joined in. A couple of Warblers opened the door and Blaine walked in and began singing; a bunch of guys stood up and started to dance along. Kurt nearly cracked up when Blaine jumped onto the back of the couch and started walking on it.

Kurt danced around in his seat and grinned when Blaine leaned down beside him as he kept singing. When they got to the chorus, all the boys threw their music up into the air and stood in a circle around Blaine. Kurt moved and sat on the arm of the couch. His eyes widened when David did some flips in the middle of their circle. He had no idea the boy could do that. Kurt looked at the boys around him and couldn't help but smile. They were all singing their parts perfectly, but they were also all dancing to the music. This was a lot better than the snapping and side-stepping they used to do. Kurt had never seen them look so…loose. It seems like Wes really was changing things up for regionals.

-.-.-.-

"Hey," Kurt saw his friends the moment he and Blaine entered the café; he rushed over to them and hugged them both. They walked other to the counter to order their coffee while Rachel and Mercedes told Kurt all about what was going on at McKinley. Blaine listened to them but said nothing.

"And the worst part is," Mercedes said as they all sat down at an empty table with their drinks. "How bummed the guys are; they already suffer enough abuse just being in glee."

"Wait, so the whole team quit?" Blaine spoke up with his mouth still full of biscotti.

"Everyone who isn't in glee," Rachel answered. "But you can't play football with just five guys. And one of them is in a wheelchair."

"Well, the good news is," Blaine took a sip out of his drink and Kurt turned to him and to see what he was going to say. "You only need four more guys. High school regulations let you play a few guys short if you want."

Kurt saw a glint in Rachel's eyes that told him she was planning something. Kurt had an idea of what she was thinking, but hoped he was wrong.

"But, if they figure it out, you can bet Kurt and I will be right there cheering them on."

"Totally," Kurt said with a bright smile. "Blaine and I love football."

Kurt saw the looks Blaine and the two girls were giving him and quickly amended his sentence. "Well, Blaine loves football. I love scarves."

Blaine chuckled and playfully bumped shoulders with Kurt.

-.-.-.-

"Hey!" Tyler looked up from his textbook and saw Kurt taking his seat next to him. Tyler smiled up at Kurt.

"Hey, yourself."

"How was your first night?" Kurt asked as he pulled his Trigonometry stuff out of his bag.

"It was alright," Tyler responded.

"That's good. I was so homesick during my first night."

"It was a little weird for me," Tyler said after some time. "I'm not used to having a roommate."

"I share a room with my step-brother back home," Kurt and Tyler shared a smile. "So did you decide about the Warblers yet?"

"I'm not sure yet," Tyler shrugged. "Other than family gatherings, and that talent show my friends dared me to do, I never really sang in front of anyone."

"Well, if you do decide to audition, they're next week Friday. My friend Wes is on the council and I mentioned him to you. I think there are three other guys auditioning."

"How do the auditions work anyway? Is it just to that council or whatever?"

"No, it's to the whole group."

Tyler opened his mouth to ask more questions but it was drowned out by the final bell going off. He turned back to his textbook and started on the warm-up problems written on the board for them.

"I think I _will_ try out for the Warblers," Tyler said as soon as class ended.

"Really?" Kurt gave Tyler a bright smile; he was starting to like seeing that smile on the shorter boy. "That's great!"

"I might need help finding an audition song, though."

"I can help you want," Kurt offered.

"That'll be great," Tyler grinned up at Kurt. "Do you think we could meet up this weekend to work something out?"

"I can't this weekend." Kurt said ruefully. "My step-brother has a huge game and so I'm going home to support him. I'll be back on Sunday morning, though. So I can meet you hat afternoon. Just give me your room and cell number and I'll meet you there."

Tyler quickly jotted down some numbers on a scrap piece of paper and handed it to Kurt. "Thanks for doing this Kurt."

"Don't mention it. I'll see you later." Kurt waved and headed down a different hall.

Kurt hurried down the hall and it wasn't long before Tyler lost him in the sea of boys in uniforms.

-.-.-.-

"You're joking!" Blaine looked up to see Kurt walk into the room with his phone pressed to his ear. He had a scandalized look on his face. "Are you crazy?"

Blaine raised an eyebrow at his irate boyfriend and listened to his half of the conversation. Blaine noticed that Kurt had gotten the attention of the other Warblers in the room because he was practically yelling into his phone.

"I played one game, and I didn't get out until the very end. I wasn't within tackling distance of the other team!"

So this was about the football team? Blaine wondered if much has changed since he went with Kurt to see Rachel and Mercedes yesterday. From the looks of it though, something big happened. And it was something Kurt wasn't entirely too happy with.

"That sounds like a stupid plan," Kurt sighed, his voice dropping in volume. "But I guess it'll work."

Kurt exchanged a few more words with whoever he was talking to before he said his goodbye. Blaine turned to him and gave him a look that clearly asked for an explanation. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw a few of the boys nearby trying to make it look like they weren't listening. He suppressed the urge to roll his eyes.

"The girls joined the football team." Kurt let out another frustrated sigh and put his phone away.

"W-what?" David, who had been sitting at the council table nearby, asked all of a sudden. "Your old school let's girls play on the football team?"

"They're desperate," Kurt shrugged."This is the first conference final they've ever been to."

"Are you going to go watch?" Blaine asked. He hoped that Kurt would and that he would invite him to go along. Though he thought that the girls on the team spelled out disaster, it _did_ sound like it would be interesting to watch.

"I have to be there to support Finn now more than ever. And New Directions will be performing during half-time so I want to be there for them. And before you ask, yes you can come along."

Blaine gave him a large grin before giving him a quick kiss on the lips. When he pulled back, Kurt was blushing slightly but grinning up at him nonetheless.

-.-.-.-

"Are you alright?" Blaine asked Kurt as they made their way to Lima. They had made it into Lima and were only a few minutes away from the school and Kurt had gotten really quiet.

"I'm just thinking."Kurt answered dismissively.

"About what?" Kurt took so long to answer that Blaine thought he wasn't going to say anything.

"What if I see Karofsky there?" Kurt answered in a small voice.

"I'll be right there," Blaine took one hand off the wheel to grab Kurt's. He felt extra protective of Kurt whenever Karofsky was mentioned. "I won't let anyone hurt you. And, if that get together with your old friends was anything to go by, they'll be right there protecting you, too. That guy won't be able to get near you."

"Thanks, Blaine." Kurt smiled at his boyfriend gratefully. They had finally reached William McKinley High School and Blaine drove around for a while looking for a parking spot. It seemed like everyone was here to see the big game. After finding a spot and locking the doors, Kurt called his dad to see where they were.

"Alright, dad. Blaine and I'll be there in a few." Kurt hung up his phone and led Blaine to the football field. Kurt looked to the field as they made their way to the bleachers where Kurt's dad and step mom had saved them seats. Blaine stopped when he saw Kurt freeze, his eyes locked to something on the field. He saw a bunch of big looking guys talking to Finn. He guessed that they were the rest of the football team.

"Which one is Karofsky?" Blaine asked. Kurt nodded to a rather large boy in a red and black jacket. Blaine glared when he pictured that bulky teenager standing over Kurt and forcing him into a kiss.

"Look, there's dad," Kurt pointed to the bleachers. Blaine saw Kurt's dad and stepmother waving at them. Kurt hurried up the stairs to get to them, Blaine following closely behind. Blaine quickly greeted them and looked out to the field. The girls had arrived. He looked with mild interest at the girls in their football gear.

Kurt groaned. "They're going to get killed out there."

"And I thought Kurt looked tiny when he was on the team," Blaine heard Burt say to Carole. Blaine recalled that video he saw of Kurt's football game. Kurt _was_ really small compared to the football team. But it was nothing to how tiny Rachel looked in her uniform.

The game started and Blaine found himself feeling bad for the McKinley team. They were getting beat real bad. The girls had been able to qualify the team to play, but laying there really didn't do much to help the team.

"This is horrible," Kurt said with his hands over his eyes. "I don't think I can watch."

Blaine whipped his head back to the field when the people around them started to scream. Kurt took his hands off his eyes. Blaine had no idea what just happened, but he saw the ball just sitting there on the ground. One of the girls, he wasn't sure who, suddenly stood and scooped the ball up before running for the end zone.

"Oh my! That's Tina!" Kurt shouted. He jumped up and down excitedly while he cheered for his friend. "Go, go, go! Oh!"

A collective gasp went through the bleachers when Tina got tackled down. Blaine waited for her to get up, but she remained on the ground. The coach ran out onto the field. Someone took her helmet off and Blaine saw Mike kneel down beside her. Blaine let out the breath he hadn't known he was holding when he saw Tina stand and get pulled into a tight embrace by Mike. Sam took over as quarter back while Finn ran off somewhere, but nothing changed. The score was still 24-0 and there seemed to be no hope for the McKinley Titans.

"At least they got this far," Kurt said in a dejected voice. "I hope they do good in the half-time show, though. If not, then they'll go through so much crap next week."

"Looks like its half time," Blaine points out when the teams leave the field. After a while, a bunch of people walked onto the field. Blaine could see them all dressed up in torn clothes and zombie make-up. He had to admit, he was impressed.

"That's the football team! And Brittany, Santana and Quinn!" Kurt bounced in his seat excitedly. "They came back?"

"I guess so," Blaine watched the band come out and everyone take their positions. "Do you guys always go so crazy with the costumes?"

"It helps you get into the song more," Kurt answered. "I remember last year, when we did Gaga, we all dressed up in her outfits. Or, the girls and I did. The boys refused to do Gaga. They did a Kiss performance, with the crazy face paint or whatever and the weird boots and all."

Kurt kept his eyes on the field so he didn't see Blaine gaping at him. Kurt dressed up as Lady Gaga? Blaine continued to stare at the boy beside him with his mouth hanging open. He wondered which outfit Kurt chose to go with. He wondered if there were any pictures.

"I think they're starting!" Kurt announced. Blaine looked down and saw the dry ice machine running. With everyone dressed in zombie costumes and the smoke billowing around them, it looked kind of creepy. Blaine made a mental note to check facebook when he got back to Dalton later. Someone was bound to have a picture of Kurt in his Lady Gaga commercial. But for now, he focused on the performance.

Kurt jumped up from his seat seconds into the performance. He, along with a bunch of other people in the bleachers, had started dancing along to the song. Blaine stood up to join Kurt. Their performance was amazing, Blaine had to give them that. The costumes really made it better. Blaine noticed someone running onto the field, and was surprised to see that Karofsky guy. Blaine raised an eyebrow but made no comment. Kurt hadn't seemed to have noticed it. The boy and his step mom started cheering when Finn began his part.

After the performance, Blaine joined Kurt in cheering and applauding. The Warblers really had to step it up if they wanted to compete with this. He made sure to add talking to Wes on his mental to-do list. Blaine was grateful when he saw that the girls weren't playing the second half. He was a little confused as to why they still had their zombie make up on, but he didn't think about it too much. After everything Kurt had told him, he resigned himself to believing that everything was just weird at McKinley.

The team did a lot better in this half. They quickly brought the score up to 21. But with only a few seconds left on the clock, he wasn't sure they could make it. Blaine looked around in shock when everyone around him started chanting 'brains' over and over. But, he saw Kurt chanting along with them and followed suit. He watched as the quarterback on the opposing team missed the ball and the Titans scored another touchdown, winning them the game. Blaine jumped up with Kurt as they both screamed at the top of their lungs and cheered.

-.-.-.-

"So, who exactly is this mystery friend of yours?" Blaine asked Kurt the next week. Kurt had spent all week since he got back to Dalton helping someone work on their song for their Warblers audition. Other than a name—Tyler—Blaine knew nothing about the boy. Kurt had offered to bring Blaine to meet him, but Blaine had refused because he had projects to get done.

"He's auditioning today," Kurt responded. "He was really good when we practiced. I hope he gets in."

"Which one is he?" Blaine looked to the four chairs beside the council's table. That was where the boys who were auditioning were sitting. Three of the four seats were already filled.

"He isn't here yet," Kurt said with a worried voice. "I hope he didn't back out."

Just as he said that, the door opened and another person walked in.

"Oh! That's him!" Kurt waved at the boy who walked in.

Blaine looked up at him and froze when he saw a familiar face. _What's he doing here?_ He thought. Blaine saw recognition flash in Tyler's eyes when he spotted Blaine next to Kurt.

"Tyler!" Kurt stood up and greeted the boy when he was close enough. "For a moment, I was afraid you wouldn't make it."

"I wouldn't do that," Tyler smiled at Kurt and Blaine's eyes narrowed when he saw something flirtatious about that smile. "Not after all the time you put in to help me."

Kurt blushed and smiled at Tyler. Blaine glared at him behind Kurt's shoulder. Making Kurt blush cutely like that was his job.

"Oh!" Kurt turned to Blaine and beckoned him forward. Blaine stood up and hesitantly made his way over the two. "This is my boyfriend, Blaine."

"Boyfriend?" Tyler asked in a surprised voice. Blaine held his breath nervously. What was going to happen? He and Tyler didn't exactly leave off on good terms. "You never told me you had a boyfriend," Tyler said while he gave Blaine an odd look.

"I guess it never came up," Kurt shrugged. Blaine bit the inside of his cheek to help calm his nerves while he waited to see what Tyler was going to say. Whatever it was, he was just going to go with it. He just hoped that the boy wouldn't make a scene.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Blaine." Tyler held his hand out. Blaine looked at it suspiciously. So he was going to pretend that they didn't know each other? Blaine tried not to let anything show on his face when Tyler held his hand in a grip that was tighter than what was considered normal.

Wes called the meeting to order and Kurt bid Tyler good luck as the boy made his way to the last remaining seat in the front of the room. One by one, the boys stood up and introduced themselves before they began their song. But, Blaine didn't pay attention to any of them. He kept his eyes on Tyler. Tyler would occasionally look back at Blaine with a cold look in his eyes. But he would only look back for a second before turning back to politely watch the person singing. Luckily for Blaine, Kurt didn't notice any of the odd exchanges between his boyfriend and his new friend; he was too busy paying attention to the singers. When it was Tyler's turn, Blaine was taken by surprise when he realized that he _could_ sing.

_I never knew he could sing,_ Blaine thought to himself. He watched the boy belt out his song and wondered what exactly was going on. Why was Tyler at Dalton? And, more importantly, why had he pretended not to know him when Kurt introduced them?

-.-.-.-

_Okay, so I know there was the whole "warm milk" thing in the coffee place. But isn't Westerville like two hours away from Lima? Correct me if I'm wrong. And, I made Kurt a boarder. Soooo. Sans the warm milk (I actually liked that scene)._

_Anyway, I realize while I was halfway through the football scene that this chapter really isn't going anywhere. Sorry! But I swear the next one will be back on track. I had something I wanted to happen, but I realized that I couldn't just do that without having Tyler go through the audition thing because then it would have seemed rushed and out of nowhere. Or, that's how I see it right now. So I hope you guys don't mind this filler. I was actually going to skip the super bowl episode, but decided to just add it here just because. I hope it wasn't too bad. I'm not that big on football. I had my boyfriend try to explain it to me but I couldn't retain any of that stuff and use it in here. So, yeah. Lol._

_Now that I've got this written, I still have a couple hours til the episode :D So, I'm going to save this for now, get some work done, watch the episode, most likely mope (I mean, seriously, we've all seen how guy crazy Rachel can get. Can you just picture her giving Blaine the same crazy look she gave Mr. Shue when they sang that song together? Shudder), then read a bunch of fluffy Klaine stories to make myself feel better. Then I'll update this right before I sleep because I like waking up to your reviews. It's a great way to start the day. So, I hope to hear from you :D_

_And, I know I've never done this before, but since I've given you two pretty useless filler chapters, I provide you with a __**teaser**__ for the next chapter!_

_Next chapter prepare foooorrr.. The infamous __**WIGYA**__ scene. Rachel/Kurt (what are they called anyway? I know it has something to do with the last names. Hummberry? Something like that) friendship moment, __**protective!ND Boys**__ and __**Burt**__ finding out about Blaine :D _

_And, am I the only one who saw the rumor about the tragedy before regionals thing? I am so dreading that. I hope they have a good reason for it. At this point, I really don't care where the story goes, as long as I get my epic Klaine happy ending. Seriously. Kurt' s been through so much already. He needs a freaking happy ending!_

_Anyway, enough of me rambling. This is really long . I bet most of you left already. Haha. Reviews are like sweet gay kisses to me :D …yeah that didn't sound weird XD_


	18. Chapter 18

_So, BIOTA, I'm in a love/hate relationship with it right now. (This might be a spoiler if you haven't seen it). I love: drunk Blaine (he was adorable, except when he was kissing Rachel), Blaine being 100% gay, the Blame it on the alcohol cover, Brittany singing/dancing (Minus the puke but that WAS funny). I hate: The Klaine fight, that Klaine didn't have a make up scene, Rachel (I was liking her a lot after the duets episode, but then she goes and pulls this? Who goes after someone they know their friend likes? That's just wrong in my book. And, come on, Kurt was all "I don't want you to get hurt either" and Rachel just goes "Who cares about you, I may get a new boyfriend out of this" WTF is that.) The love has more in it than the hate, but I really __**hated**__ those things. Quality over quantity XD Also, Santanny? That's a new one._

_Also, I don't think I'm going to tweak any more scenes from the actual show after SLS because it just doesn't fit into the story. And, remember that new Klaine story I got an idea for? I've come up with a title for it! It's called __**Love Thy Enemy**__. I may change it though. But, what do you think about it? It's another AU type thing where Kurt and Blaine start off not liking each other. The title just came to me while I was sitting through a lecture today. I've decided not to work on it until I'm done with this story though because it's going to distract me, but I HAVE started writing out scenes and stuff in a notebook. I'll piece them all together later._

_Anyway, thanks for all the reviews/favorites/alerts guys. You guys are the greatest. Each review meant so much to me. _

-.-.-.-

Tyler waited outside with the other three boys for the results of their auditions. According to Kurt, they all had to wait outside while everyone discussed and voted in there. Luckily for Kurt, he had been the only one auditioning and didn't have to go through that. He had chatted with the other three boys for a while, but each of them was all too anxious to talk much. Tyler had seen two of the Warblers leave the room and hurry down the hall.

After what felt like forever, the doors opened and Samuel walked out. He stopped in front of the four boys and smiled.

"You guys all did great," Samuel started. "But unfortunately, only two of you made it. So, congratulations Tyler and Brandon."

The other two boys looked a little dejected but congratulated Tyler and Brandon. Samuel smiled at the two boys who made it and led them into the room. Tyler sought out Kurt and saw the boy grin up at him. Tyler returned the smile, but it left his face as soon as he saw the look Blaine was giving him.

"Let's give a round of applause to our newest members, Tyler and Brandon," Wes spoke up and the room burst into applaus

"Nick and Thad should be here soon," David added. Tyler stood in the front of the room with the other boy, Brandon and smiled awkwardly. He felt everyone's eyes on him. He had no idea what he was waiting for, but whatever it was, he hoped it would happen soon.

After listening to Wes go on about a little Warbler history the doors opened and the two boys he saw leaving earlier came in holding…cages? Tyler watched curiously as the two boys handed the cages to Wes and David. His eyes bulged out even more when he was handed one of said cages. He looked down into it and saw a small yellow green bird. What was he supposed to do with this?

-.-.-.-

"This Sunday's the one month mark," Wes commented as he and Blaine walked back to their room with David.

"That it is," Blaine nodded absentmindedly.

"Any big plans?" David asked curiously.

"I don't know," Blaine shrugged. "I've never made a big deal out of "monthsaries" or whatever it is you call them."

"And because you've only ever been in one relationship that lasted a month." Wes added.

"Kurt seems like the type though," David said thoughtfully. "Speaking of which, are we going to discuss Tyler?"

"Tyler? The new guy?" Wes asked. "What about him?"

"Don't you remember the guy we told you about while you away on vacation last summer?" Blaine asked.

"Wait," Wes stopped and turned to his two friends. "He's _that _Tyler?"

"Yeah." Blaine nodded with a small frown pulling at his lips. "It's weird though. Kurt introduced us and he acted like he was meeting me for the first time. But I could tell he recognized me. I saw it in his eyes."

"I wonder why he's doing that," David said quietly as the three boys began walking again

"Maybe its better that way," Wes said after a while. "He didn't seem like the guy you told me about last summer, which is probably a good thing because who knows how it will affect the Warblers."

Blaine just rolled his eyes; of course that was one of the things Wes would be most concerned about. "Anyway, help me come up with ideas I could do for this monthsary—that's a stupid name. I'll just stick to one month anniversary."

-.-.-.-

Kurt woke up on Sunday morning to see a single red rose lying on his bed side table. There was a small white ribbon that attached a card to it. Kurt gingerly picked up the card to see that it only held two words: _Good Morning. _The boy smiled when he recognized Blaine's signature. He sent a quick thank you message to his boyfriend and went to the bathroom to get ready for the day.

After checking his appearance in the mirror one last time, Kurt was ready to leave. He opened his dorm room door and was surprised to see Blaine standing there with a wide grin on his face. The older boy stepped forward and captured his lips in a chaste kiss.

"Happy one month anniversary," Blaine said softly when he pulled away.

Kurt smiled brightly at those words. He wasn't sure if Blaine cared about that kind of thing and didn't want to mention anything. He moved forward to connect their lips again. "Happy one month anniversary."

"Come on," Blaine reached down and took Kurt's hand. "I have the entire day planned out for us."

Kurt followed Blaine into his car and chatted amicably with the other boy as he drove to their destination. Kurt was surprised to see them stopping at a park.

"A park?" He had been hoping that they would go out to get something to eat because Blaine had gotten him before he got a chance to get breakfast—or lunch since it was already after eleven.

"Yup," Blaine grinned. After Kurt got out of the car, he watched Blaine go to get something in the backseat. His eyes widened when he saw Blaine pull out a basket.

"A picnic in the park, really?" Blaine grinned. "Since when had our lives turned into a cheesy romantic comedy movie?"

Blaine only laughed and gave Kurt a quick peck on the cheek before pulling him into the park. Kurt giggled as Blaine led them to lake.

"So, correct me if I'm wrong," Kurt watched as Blaine pulled out a blanket and put it on the ground. "But isn't it too cold for a picnic in the park? Isn't it supposed to snow later?"

"I know, but a picnic is just the perfectly lame cheesy thing we need to start the day," Blaine answered with a playful grin.

Kurt rolled his eyes, but he was feeling giddy inside. He always hated those stupid cheesy moments in romance movies, but had always wanted to try them out. It was something he had told Blaine about before they even got together and he was surprised the older boy had remembered.

"Fine then," Kurt moved to sit beside Blaine on the blanket. "But if it starts to snow, I'm going to throw you into that half-frozen lake."

The rest of the day was just perfect in Kurt's opinion. After their lunch (though it was more like breakfast for Kurt) at the lake, they went to the mall for dessert. They went into a little pastry shop and split a slice of strawberry cheesecake while sipping on some coffee. After dessert, they walked around the mall, occasionally going into certain stores and looking at stuff. After a couple of hours of just walking around and having fun in each other's company, Blaine led them back out to his car.

The local theater was performing _Wicked_ and Blaine had gotten them tickets to see it. He would quietly sing along to the songs or even recite the lines that he knew. Kurt was smiling the entire time. After the performance, Blaine took them to get ice cream. Usually, Kurt would have protested because of all the junk that they had to eat today, but he was having too much of a good time.

-.-.-.-

Blaine drove back to Dalton with one hand on the wheel and the other holding Kurt's. Today had been a lot more fun than he thought it would be. He enjoyed Kurt's company and the girly notion of a picnic in the park—David's idea—was a lot better than he expected. It had started to snow halfway through their meal and the ground was cold, but Kurt had snuggled up to him and they shared each other's warmth as they finished eating.

Watching _Wicked_ had also been a good experience. He had never seen it before and the only song he knew from it was what Kurt had sung during his audition. But, he found himself enjoying the show. After the show, he was able to kiss Kurt under the stars like he had wanted to do before. Blaine felt a feeling of accomplishment when he saw the smile that had never seemed to leave Kurt's face the entire day.

-.-.-.-

"Gentlemen," Wes sat straighter in his seat and looked at each of the boys around him."We've been doing a lot of different songs lately to help us get an edge during regionals, but I'm still not convinced we found the right song."

Blaine listened to his friend while his thumb idly rubbed circles on the back of Kurt's hand. Wes had gotten the letter with their competition yesterday and had been ranting about it every since. Blaine's thoughts drifted off when Wes had started going over all the songs they have been practicing lately. He looked over Kurt's shoulders and saw Tyler glancing at Kurt. Blaine frowned and looked away.

He still hadn't figured out what was going on with Tyler. The taller boy continued to act as if they didn't know each other. And Blaine never got a chance to talk to him about it was because the only time he was ever around him was during Warblers' practice or when Kurt was hanging out with him. That was also another thing he couldn't figure out.

Kurt had been spending a lot of time with Tyler recently and he wasn't sure he liked it. He's seen Kurt make a lot of friends both in the Warblers and with other students, but none of those friendships bothered him as much as his friendship with Tyler did. Maybe it was because he was spending more time with Tyler than the others. Or, maybe it was because he still didn't understand why Tyler had pretended not to know; that was almost a month ago and it still made him feel uneasy. Or, perhaps it was the looks Blaine saw Tyler giving Kurt sometimes when the other boy wasn't looking.

There was something in that look—the look told him that Tyler was obviously interested in Kurt. That bothered him. It also bothered him that Tyler didn't seem to care that Kurt had a boyfriend and that Kurt didn't seem to notice the way Tyler looked at him or always seemed closer than what's considered normal. Blaine had talked to Kurt about it once but the younger boy just said he was probably being paranoid—He was the first friend Tyler made at Dalton so they were relatively close. But, Wes and David had noticed it, too. But, Blaine didn't mention it again because it had almost caused a fight with Kurt and that was the last thing he needed.

"Sex!" Blaine snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Wes say 'sex'. What had he missed? He looked around the room and saw that everyone was giving their leader confused looks.

"Think about it!" Wes insisted. "A sexy number would be daring and definitely won't be expected of us. It'll definitely surprise everyone and probably impress the judges."

"But we're an _all boys' school_," Nick pointed out. "Won't we need girls for something like that?"

"Not necessarily," Wes answered. Blaine thought he saw a crazed glint in his friend's eyes. "And, if it was a song originally sung by a female, we can just alter it slightly to make it work for us. That should work in our favor because we're doing more than just singing songs, we're making it _ours_"

Blaine had to agree; Wes was making a lot of sense.

"I've been going through some possibly song choices," Wes continued. "And I propose we do Britney Spears."

An explosion of 'what' and 'you can't be serious' broke out from all the boys. Wes had to bang his gavel to silence them.

"Hear me out," Wes said after silence returned. "She had been a very popular music icon once upon a time. We're all familiar with her, and I'm sure our competition as well as most of the audience will be, too."

"And not all her songs are too girly to be sung by us," David added. Blaine knew that before Wes could make a formal song proposition to the Warblers, he had to run it by David and Samuel first. And though they agreed with it, Blaine wondered what David had originally thought about Wes's idea.

"It'll be great!" Wes's voice was just filled with enthusiasm. "We'll sing one of her songs, it'll probably get everyone singing and dancing along, and the judges will eat it up. What's the worst that can happen?"

"A fire alarm will go off and everyone will panic and stampede out of there?" Kurt suggested. Blaine turned to stare at him. He had spent enough time with the boy so he could tell when he was being serious or not, and there was a lot of seriousness in his voice.

"What?"David, along with just about everyone in the room, turned to stare at Kurt.

"That's what happened when I was still with New Directions and we did a Britney number."

"You did a Britney number?" Tyler asked

"What song?" Wes asked.

"Toxic."

"I don't remember seeing a video of that," Wes reached for something that was on the floor next to him.

"It didn't exactly end too well," Kurt shrugged. "You're seriously going to look for it now?"

Blaine looked back up to the council table to see that Wes had pulled out a laptop.

"I want to see what you did," Wes answered dismissively. "I want to see if we can learn from your mistakes. Your old group probably won't pull that out for regionals so we may still be able to do it. If not, then we'll just think of something else."

Blaine leaned back on the couch and waited while Wes typed quickly. "Aha! I had overlooked this one."

"Remind me to ask Rachel how she films all those performances," Kurt told Blaine while Wes hooked the laptop up to a projector so everyone wouldn't have to crowd around the screen.

Blaine learned forward curiously. The video started out with a man in front of a closed curtain speaking in a monotone voice about something or another. He introduced New Directions and a small polite applause broke out from the people in the bleachers. It didn't sound like too many people were interested.

Blaine watched as Brittany danced into the middle of the stage with the boys stepping in behind her. She began singing and walking around the guys. Blaine stared as Kurt danced around with that hat and his eyes widened. It widened even further when he saw their Director, Mr. Shue, danced onto the stage and began singing. How did they get him to sing it with them? When the chorus came up, he heard cheering erupt from the bleachers. It sounded like everyone was interested now.

The senior was surprised his eyes hadn't fallen out of his eyes by the time the second chorus came on. This had to have been the _hottest_ thing he's ever seen. Blaine was sure he was drooling. The entire dance just screamed sexual. Blaine glanced around the room and saw that all the other boys had similar expressions of shock on their faces—with the exception of Kurt, who watched the performance with a small smile on his face; he was probably thinking back to this day.

He looked up to the council table and saw the shocked expression on Wes's face. There was no way the Warblers could do anything like this and he knew it. Then, Blaine noticed that Tyler had stopped looking at the performance and was looking at Kurt instead. Blaine glared at the boy who didn't notice the sudden attention he got. His attention as turned back to the screen when he heard a loud noise that wasn't part of the song. It was probably the fire alarm Kurt had talked about. Then, the cheering from the crowd turned into panicked screaming and the video ended there.

"Okay, so maybe no Britney," Wes said after a while. "Let's end today's practice here. Think about any songs or something you think we can pull off. And don't forget, Warbler bonding night after dinner."

"Are you still going home tonight?" Blaine asked after Kurt had _finally_ left Tyler. It felt like they had been talking forever, even though it was actually just a couple of minutes.

"Yeah," Kurt answered. "I want to go to the bonding night thing, but I promised dad that I'd be home."

"I'll miss you," Blaine said as he walked Kurt to his room.

"I'll miss you, too."

"When will you be back? Sunday morning?"

"I don't think so. I promised Rachel and Mercedes that we're going to hang. I'll probably be back Sunday afternoon at the earliest."

"Will we have time to go out, though?" Blaine wrapped an arm around Kurt's shoulders. "Valentines is on Monday so I wanted to go out for dinner on Sunday, where we'll have more time to do stuff."

"I'll try," Kurt smiled at his boyfriend.

-.-.-.-

The 'Warblers' Bonding Night' was something the council made them do once a month. It was just a night where all the guys would hang out and have some fun. It was important that, as a team, they all had good relations with each other and this bonding night was a great way to do that. The boys had ended up playing a rousing round of truth or dare.

"Blaine," Blaine looked up at Tyler suspiciously. He didn't like the look on the other boy's eyes. But, never one to turn back from a challenge, he chose "Dare."

Tyler smirked. "I was actually thinking about some songs we could do earlier, and I think I thought of one that we could pull off. So, Blaine, I dare you to sing that song, like a full out serenade, to a random person at…" Tyler stopped looked around the room. He was probably trying to figure out what to add to that dare. Tyler's smirk widened when it landed on a sweatshirt draped over one of the arm chairs. "The Gap."

Blaine glared at Tyler as a bunch of the guys tried not to laugh at how ridiculous the entire thing sounded.

"What song?" Wes asked after a while.

"Robin Thicke's 'When I Get You Alone'," Tyler answered. Blaine glared at the smirking boy while a few of the boys started laughing.

"That sounds good, actually," Wes said.

"Then why don't you guys help me out?" Blaine tried not to sound too hopeful. It wouldn't be as embarrassing if everyone else did it.

"Why would we do that?" David raised an eyebrow. He had a hint of smile on his lips so Blaine knew that he probably wanted to see him make a fool out of himself.

"It'd be great practice," Blaine added. He pointed that at Wes.

"He's right," Blaine did a little mental cheer when Wes agreed. A bunch o the other boys groaned but didn't protest.

"It's settled then!" Wes stood up from the couch he had been sitting on. "We'll practice tonight and tomorrow, and then perform it on Sunday morning."

Blaine spent the rest of the night shooting Tyler glares. The taller boy either just ignored him, or smirked in response.

-.-.-.-

"This is ridiculous," Blaine groaned as he stared at the boy that was chosen for his dare. It was a tall lanky looking guy with long shaggy looking blonde bangs.

"You can do it," David patted him on the back and gave him the thumbs up. Blaine took a deep breath, gave Wes the signal to start, and began to sing.

-.-.-.-

"Why did we come all the way here?" Rachel asked as she and Mercedes exited Kurt's car and headed for the mall entrance.

"I have to get Blaine a Valentine's Day gift," Kurt answered as he led his friends to the store. "I saw him eying a few things the last time we came here and I need your help choosing the right one."

"What's going on over there?" Mercedes asked when they passed by the Gap. A crowd had formed around the place.

"Do you hear singing?" Rachel asked.

The three of them pushed their way through the crowd to see what was going on. As they got closer, they heard singing. Kurt's eyes widened when he caught sight of a blue and red blazer through the open door. There was no way…

They moved to the front of the crowd and entered the store. Kurt froze in shock when he saw that it _was_ the Warblers in there. He felt his heart drop to his stomach when he saw Blaine singing while following a blonde around. Kurt listened to the lyrics of the song and it only made things worse. It didn't help that Blaine was giving it all he had and just kept _following_ that guy. His felt a pang go through his chest and for a moment, he wondered if his heart just broke. It sure felt that way.

"Kurt," Mercedes was the first to get over the shock of seeing Blaine serenading the other boy. She held onto his arm and began to pull him back to the door. But, Kurt wasn't moving. He was frozen solid and kept his eyes on Blaine.

"Rachel!" Rachel snapped out of her shock and grabbed onto Kurt's other arm. The boy's eyes were wide and glassy looking and his bottom lip had started to quiver. Between the two of them, Mercedes and Rachel were able to drag Kurt out of the store right after the song ended.

-.-.-.-

Blaine finished the song and turned around to grin at his friends. He had been embarrassed at first, but the customers in the store had gotten into it and were dancing along and it made him feel better about doing this. He felt a little bad for following the worker around though. He probably traumatized the guy for life. Blaine smiled at the applauding people standing by the entrance. He was about to go join the rest of the Warblers when something caught his eye.

_Kurt_. He saw Mercedes and Rachel pulling Kurt out of the store. He stepped forward to follow them, but stopped when they caught sight of him. He had never seen either girl look so angry. But they glared at him over their shoulders as they led Kurt out of the store. Through the diminishing crowd, Blaine was able to catch a glimpse of Kurt. His breath caught in his throat when he noticed the tears on the boy's face.

-.-.-.-

"Just let it all out, baby," Mercedes rubbed comforting circles on Kurt's back as the boy sobbed into her shoulder. Rachel sat on his other side and had an arm wrapped around his waist in a hug. After they left the Gap, Mercedes had taken Kurt's keys and drove to his house. Kurt would break into tears every now and then, but it was happening less frequently now.

"I can't believe that guy!" Rachel hissed.

"Just wait until I get my hands on him," Mercedes said in a cold voice.

"G-guys, really," Kurt stammered out. Whenever he stopped crying, he spent his time trying to convince Rachel and Mercedes not to drive back to Westerville and attack Blaine.

"No, Kurt," Mercedes and Rachel moved their hands away from him as he wiped at the tears on his face. "He's going to pay for hurting you."

Kurt opened his mouth to answer but stopped when they heard noises coming from upstairs. He grabbed at his comforter and frantically wiped at his face as the door to his room opened.

Finn, Puck, and Mike walked down the stairs. They were all laughing and playfully punching each other, but the laughter died down when they saw Kurt.

"Kurt?" Finn hurried down the stairs. "What's going on?"

"What happened?" Mike asked as he and Puck walked up behind Finn.

"N—nothing," Kurt tried to smile and reassure his friends that nothing was wrong, but another wave of tears overcame him. Rachel hurried forward and pulled him into a tight hug. Kurt buried his head into her shoulder as sobs shook his body.

"What's going on?" Finn asked again. He turned to Mercedes, who still looked angry. "What happened to Kurt?"

"It was that good for nothing prep boy," Mercedes said darkly.

"Blaine?" Mike asked. Mercedes' eyes narrowed as she nodded slowly.

"I'm going to kick his ass!" Puck snarled.

"What did he do?" Mike looked just as angry as Puck and Finn.

Kurt shook his head and started saying something. It was muffled because his face was still in Rachel's shoulder, but the small girl seemed to understand him.

"No, Kurt," she said softly. "They should know what he did. You shouldn't try to protect him."

"What happened, Kurt?" Finn's voice rose in volume as his anger grew. "What did that good for nothing boyfriend of yours do to you?"

"Boyfriend?" The teenagers stopped and all turned see Burt Hummel standing at the top of the stairs. The shouting had caught his attention and he came down to see what was going on. Anger flared in him when he saw Kurt in Rachel's arms. The boy had picked his head up and was staring at his dad with wide eyes and he had gone extremely pale. But his eyes and nose were all red from the crying he had been doing.

"Kurt?" Burt hurried down the steps. He stopped in front of the boys. "What's going on here? What's Finn going on about a boyfriend? You have a boyfriend? What did he do to you? Did he hurt you?"

After the first few words, Burt had started shouting. His hands were balled into fists at his side and his face had gone red. They teens had never seen him so angry, and from Finn, that was saying something because he saw Burt try and attack Karofsky.

"D-dad," Kurt said in a shaky voice. He broke out of Rachel's embrace and went to his dad. "Please, dad, calm down. Your heart."

Burt took a deep breath and listened to his son. But it was hard with all the anger that was currently consuming him. "I'm not calming down until you explain this to me Kurt. And from the start. When did you get a boyfriend?"

Kurt led his dad to his bed to sit down. Rachel and Mercedes moved to make room for the other man. The three boys also moved to take seats as they waited for Kurt to explain what was going on. While everyone got settled, Kurt went into his bathroom to wash up a little. He was sure he looked horrible, and he didn't want to explain what was bound to be a pretty long story to his still irate father and step-brother while he had snot running down his face.

-.-.-.-

_So I didn't put in the Kurtchel/Hummelberry or whatever they're called moment in here the way I planned. I was going to focus a lot on her comforting him—I liked the Kurt/Rachel friendship ever since she was the first to notice how he was having a hard time—but when the BIOTA thing and now I'm mad at Rachel XD _

_Thanks for all the reviews guys! It's 2AM and I've taken Nyquil so I'm about ready to knock out, but I just wanted to get this posted. I also wanted to make sure I had in all the things I told you guys I was going to have in this chapter. I hope I did it well enough._

_Something to look forward to: Kurt refuses to talk to Blaine. Blaine gets a revelation. A few members of ND make a trip to Dalton. Tyler and Blaine finally get to talk. _


	19. Chapter 19

_Once again, thanks for all the reviews/alerts/favorites guys. :D You guys are the best. _

-.-.-.-

"Are you sure that it was Kurt?" David looked back at Blaine in the back seat. They were driving back to school after their little performance at the mall. "Didn't you say he wasn't going to be back until later today?"

"That's what he told me," Blaine had a small frown on his face. He went through his inbox to see the text message from Kurt that told him what he was going to come back from Lima. "But I'm sure it was him. Rachel and Mercedes were with him."

"And he was _crying_?" Wes asked from behind the wheel.

"That's what it looked like," Blaine answered after a while. He hated the sight o Kurt crying; it wasn't right and it brought out a strange feeling in him. He had wanted to run after Kurt and take him into his arms and comfort him.

"Why would he be crying?"

"Do you think it was because of the performance?" David asked after a while.

"But it was just a song," Blaine answered. "He wouldn't have gotten so upset over something like that."

"But the song was pretty…raunchy," Wes said carefully.

"That wouldn't have made a difference," Blaine insisted."Even if it did make him mad, he would have come talk to me first. He wouldn't have burst into tears."

-.-.-.-

"Kurt," Burt looked down at his still distraught son. Kurt had just finished explaining everything to him and he was still having a hard time processing all that information. The boys had gone upstairs with Rachel and Mercedes after Kurt's story to give the two some privacy. "Why didn't you tell me about this Blaine character earlier?"

"I didn't know how you would handle it," Kurt said softly. "I know you're okay with me being gay, but having a boyfriend was something different all together and I didn't' want to spring it on you unless I knew for sure it was going to be a long time thing."

"Did you think it was going to be a long time thing?" Burt asked uncomfortably. He had no idea how to deal with this kind of situation.

"I thought so," Kurt said in a shaky voice. Burt saw the tears start to form in his eyes and felt the anger flare up again. No one made his boy cry.

"Dad, please," Kurt took hold of Burt's arm. He looked at him with wide eyes that reminded him so much of his late wife. "Please, don't worry about this. It's fine, really."

"You're crying, Kurt. It's not fine."

"Dad, I can handle this." Kurt insisted. "It's just a stupid high school relationship. You don't have to worry yourself over it."

"Look," Burt placed a comforting hand on his son's shoulder. "I promised Carole I'd follow her to her sister's today, and I have to go pick her up from work now. But, we're going to talk about this before you go back to that school of yours, alright?"

"Alright," Kurt said softly.

"I'll see you in a few hours, kiddo." Burt gave his son a comforting squeeze and left the room.

-.-.-.-

"Kurt?" Kurt looked up from the floor and saw Mercedes and Rachel make their way back into his room shortly after his dad left.

"Hey," He gave them a wry smile. "Where are the guys?"

"They left," Mercedes sat down on his left and gave him a quick hug and a peck on the cheek. "They said something about having to meet Sam and Artie."

"Are you feeling better now?" Rachel asked hesitantly. She sat on Kurt's right.

"A little," Kurt replied. He still felt horrible, but at least he wasn't crying anymore. Something on his bedside table caught his attention. The screen of his phone was lighting up. Rachel noticed that Kurt was looking at it so she reached over and took it.

"You have 20 unread messages and 7 missed calls," Rachel told him. She held the phone out to him, but he didn't make a move to take it. Rachel put the phone back on the bedside table.

"Kurt," Rachel started. "Mercedes and I were talking up there. And after we calmed down, we realized something."

Kurt looked at the small girl and waited for her to continue. "What if…what if we were just over reacting? I mean, Blaine was just singing to that guy, right? And, sure, it was a pretty sexual song, but what if there was nothing behind it? What if the only reason he was following that guy around and looking that way was because of the song?"

"I don't know," Kurt said dejectedly.

"But it's possible, right?" Mercedes said softly. "It's possible that there could be no meaning behind him singing? I mean, he's been trying to call you and talk to you the past hour. Maybe you should just talk to him and let him explain."

"There was something I didn't tell you," Kurt said in a quiet voice.

"What?" Mercedes and Rachel asked in unison.

"There's this guy in my Trig class, Zach, he went out with Blaine last year."

"Okay, so you met one of his exes," Mercedes commented. "What does that have to do with that performance at the Gap?"

"Zach told me that Blaine's a great boyfriend in the beginning, but after a while, he gets bored and moves on. Blaine's never had a relationship that lasted more than a month before. And we're reaching the two month mark next week. What if he's bored of me already?"

"I'm sure that's not it," Mercedes said soothingly.

"Yeah, what if he was just speaking as a spiteful ex?" Rachel spoke up.

"But he wasn't the only one," Kurt insisted. His eyes had started to glass over again. "I remember that when I first went out with him, my roommate Trent, said he wasn't really the boyfriend type. And a few of the friends I've made outside the Warblers have said that I was probably Blaine's longest relationship so far."

"Kurt, you're just getting yourself worked up over what other people have been saying." Mercedes told him. "Okay, so maybe he was like that before, but what if he's changed? The two of you look so happy whenever we see you together."

"That's what I thought, especially after he took me out for our one month anniversary. But, Tyler mentioned something a couple weeks ago about me not spending as much time with Blaine as I used to, and how we don't seem so close anymore whenever we're together. He even asked me if we were still together once."

"Tyler? Who's Tyler?" Rachel asked.

"He's a friend from the Warblers," Kurt answered. "He just transferred to Dalton this term so we kind of hit it off because we were both new."

"I wish I could give you advice, Kurt," Mercedes told him after a while. "But I haven't exactly had much relationship experience so I have no idea what to do in this kind of situation."

"I don't know what to do either," Rachel added. "I mean, I've dated Jesse and Finn, but it was never something like this."

"I know," Mercedes got off the bed and went to the shelf where Kurt kept his DVD's. "Let's pop in Mean Girls and forget all about this boy drama for a while."

-.-.-.-

"What are you guys doing here?" Sam asked when he opened his door to see Mike, Finn, Artie and Puck standing on his front porch.

"We need your help." Finn was the first to speak. Sam stepped out and closed the door behind him and regarded Finn with a little suspicion. He and Finn haven't been seeing eye to eye lately.

"With what?"

"We need your help getting to Dalton," Puck answered. "We need to go bash that Blaine guy's face in."

"What? Why?" Sam looked at the boys around him. Finn and Mike looked just as angry as Puck. He turned to Artie for an explanation.

"They came to my house right before coming here," Artie began. "No one had a car at the moment so we borrowed my dad's minivan. They haven't told me the entire story yet. They said they wanted to wait until we got you so they didn't' have to repeat it. But all I know is that Kurt's upset and crying and it's Blaine's fault."

"What?" Sam was taken aback at first, but it wasn't long before the anger flooded through him. Though he hadn't known Kurt for very long, he felt a little protective over him. He had come from Dalton and before that, he had been at another Middle School, so he never had to deal with bullying until he came to McKinley. What happened to him wasn't too bad because he was on the football team. But he saw what they did to Kurt.

Kurt seemed to get slushied the most out of all the people in glee. Sam even remembered walking down the hall once and seeing a jock, most like Karofsky, shove Kurt into the lockers. The resounding slam was loud enough that Sam heard it over the loud conversations going around, and he was down at the end of the hallway. He hadn't joined glee club yet at that time so he didn't know Kurt, but he had been so shocked to see that happen to him. And, to make things worse, the people around him didn't do anything. No one came to help him up. Kurt had forced himself back up, brushed himself off, and walked away with his head held high.

"So are you coming or not?" Finn asked impatiently. Sam had been too busy in his thoughts that he missed what they were saying.

"Yeah, I'm coming." Sam rushed inside to grab a coat and told him mom he was going out for a while. He followed the boys into the car and Finn explained what was going on while Puck sped down the road. After Finn finished his story, Sam stared out the window and mulled over some things. One of the things he missed about Dalton since going to McKinley was how nice and accepting everyone was there. There was a social hierarchy at Dalton, too, but the people at the top would never have put down anyone beneath them. It wasn't how it worked. Sam sighed and continued to watch the cars pass by. He never would have thought that the next time he stepped foot on Dalton would be to pick a fight.

When they arrived, Sam led them to the dorm buildings. Because it was the weekend and it wasn't uncommon for the students to have visitors, they had no problem getting in. Also, they were a bunch of teenage boys and could easily pass as students, especially because no one usually wore uniforms during the weekend.

-.-.-.-

"Why isn't he answering me?" Blaine asked in frustration. He had called Kurt again for what had to be the tenth time but the boy still hadn't answered his phone. He hadn't even replied to any of the text messages he sent.

"What if he's busy?" David suggested.

"He would have said something," Blaine muttered as he looked at his phone, mentally willing the screen to light up with a new message or a call from Kurt. He had no idea why this was upsetting him so much. But he hated that Kurt wasn't answering him. It made him both angry and upset.

"This is all Tyler's fault!" Blaine snarled. "If he hadn't given me that stupid dare, then I would never have had to sing that stupid song and Kurt wouldn't have seen it and run off like that and he would be here with me right now!"

"You're really affected by this, aren't you?" Wes asked after he stared at Blaine for a while.

"So?" Blaine snapped. He probably shouldn't be taking his frustration out on his friends, but he had no idea what was going on and it was driving him crazy.

"Do you remember when you dated that guy last year, Zach?" Wes asked. Blaine nodded. "If I remember right, you guys went like a week without talking to or seeing each other. You didn't care this much. Hell, I think you barely thought about Zach that week. Kurt hasn't said a thing to you for a few hours and you look ready to tear up the place."

"Kurt's different," Blaine insisted.

"How is he different?" David asked. "I thought you 'didn't care about him like that'?"

"I don't—I just—I don't know anymore,"

"Are you saying that you like Kurt?" David and Wes shared look.

"I don't _know_," Blaine sighed. "I'm just so confused right now."

The three had stopped talking because they reached the room Warblers used for practice. They didn't have a practice today, but after their successful—or at least some of them saw it as successful—trip to the Gap, Samuel decided they should all just hang out because their 'bonding night' ended with them practicing When I Get You Alone. They walked in and saw that everyone was there. Blaine glared at Tyler, who had been talking to Nick, before he sat down.

"Great job earlier, Blaine," Tyler said with a small smirk on his face. Blaine's eyes narrowed suspiciously. He didn't like the sound of the other boy's voice.

"You guys, we killed that song!" Samuel said happily. A round of cheers answered him.

"We'll definitely have to consider that for regionals," Wes added. "Great job, Tyler."

Everyone, with the exception of Blaine, clapped for Tyler. The tall boy stood and thanked them all.

"Now, enough talk about songs and regionals!" David stood up and faced the boys. "Let's just have some fun, alright?"

The other boys heartily agreed. They all stood from their seats and were about to set up the screen for the movies and video games they had, but were stopped by the door bursting open. Everyone turned to see five boys in the doorway, looking at each person in the room.

Blaine, Wes, and David shared a look when they recognized the boys. Finn stood in front of the group, a true image of a leader. Flanking him were Sam and Puck, and behind them was Mike, who was pushing Artie's wheelchair. Each boy had a menacing look on their face.

"Sam?" Jeff asked, breaking the tense silence that had fallen upon them. "What are you doing here?"

"You've got a lot of nerve," Finn stalked over to where Blaine was sitting. Blaine felt a bit intimidated to be sitting while Finn towered above him, so he stood up. Finn was still much taller than him, but it wasn't as bad as when he was sitting down.

"Finn, what's going on?" Blaine asked in as calm a voice as he can muster. Wes and David moved through the still shocked Warblers and stood on either side o Blaine.

"I warned you, rich boy," Puck growled as he walked up next to Finn. "I told you not to hurt him."

"W—what? What are you guys talking about?" Blaine's eyes darted down to the clenched fists of the two boys in front of him.

"You did something to Kurt," Sam said from behind them. His words made all the boys in the room, who had been staring at Finn and Puck, turn to stare at him.

"I—I didn't do—" Blaine hurried to explain but was interrupted by Finn.

"Don't lie!"

"We saw him crying!" Mike moved to stand on Finn's other side. Sam and Artie were just as upset over this, but they hadn't seen how upset Kurt was first hand.

Blaine felt all the eyes in the room turn to him, but he ignored it. All he could focus on was what Mike had said. _Kurt was crying_. Those words tore into his heart a little.

"Guys," David stepped forward and spoke in a calm voice. "Why don't we talk about this?"

"Yeah," Wes added. "Obviously there's been some sort of misunderstanding."

"All I need to understand is that my brother is crying, and it's all his fault." Finn pointed at Blaine.

"I'm sure if we talked about this—" David continued.

"I'm done talking," Puck took a step forward, and before anyone could do anything, he swung at Blaine.

The force of the blow was enough to make Blaine fall over. Puck moved forward to take another shot but Finn beat him to it. Wes and David hurried to step in front of Blaine. Finn, who hadn't expected them to step in front of him suddenly, had ended up crashing into David. He stumbled back and tried to regain his balance.

Blaine was still on the floor. He felt pain burning his cheek watched the scene in front of him with wide eyes. Puck had moved to lunge at him again, but was stopped by Artie, who said something about juvie. Finn made another move towards him but was stopped by Wes. Blaine's eyes widened further when he saw Wes—_Wes,_ of all people—throw a punch at Finn while David was trying to hold off Mike. Wes's punch probably hurt Finn as much as Puck's had him, but it took Finn by surprise and made him stumble back again. Sam had moved forward to take part in the fight but Jeff and Thad sprang forward to hold him back. Blaine sat up slowly—the fall had hurt his back a little—and saw the rest of the Warblers watching the fight with shocked expressions. Most of the boys, having been in private school all their lives, had never seen, let alone been in, a fight so they had no idea what to do.

But, even with the throbbing pain on the left side of his face and the three boys who were struggling to get to him—Finn was currently trying to fight off Samuel and Wes, David was holding back Mike with the help of Nick, Artie had managed to get Puck to stay put thankfully, and Jeff and Thad each held one of Sam's arms—all he could think about was Kurt. Kurt who he had seen crying as he left the mall earlier. Kurt, who wasn't answering his messages or texts. If the boys had driven all the way here to attack him, then it meant that Kurt was really upset. And it was all because of him.

-.-.-.-

_I apologize for the ending. I'm horrible at writing fight scenes. A beta for one of my stories had once told me that she knew a person who had her friends or someone act out fights in front of her so she knew what to write But, alas, it's almost one in the morning and I don't think I can anyone willing to stage a fight just so I can write one out in this story XD_

_Also, I know I said that there was going to be a Tyler/Blaine talk and Blaine getting a revelation, but I couldn't seem to get it to fit into this chapter without jumping around too much. That, and I've had a fever all morning and I can't seem to focus much. So, the next chapter will __**for sure**__ have: a Tyler/Blaine talk, a Tyler/Kurt talk, a Kurt/Blaine talk, and a Blaine/Wes/David talk. That's a lot of talking XD But it's going to lead into an important development for this bet the boys have going on._

_You know what I want to see on Glee? A Kurt/Dalton/Warblers centric episode. Like, an entire episode where the focus is on Kurt and the Warblers with the ND kids in McKinley just having a small scene. Just at least for one episode, you know? I mean, it's pretty inevitable that Kurt will go back to McKinley. I know that if(when) that happens, we won't be surprised. And there's all this stuff online about them finishing filming. I'll miss them __**sooo**__ much. I love Wes & David, even if they are a little stuck up in canon, but still. Jeff's just adorable. And Thad and the Warbler played by Aaron Page are just too cute. I fan-girl over the Warblers more than I do New Direction guys (I still love Sam and Mike). So yeah, I just want an episode that focuses on them. I kind of want to see the other guys have lines, even if it's just a small one line thing. I think I need a break from the ND drama before regional (btw, about the tragedy, my sister told me it's going to be the bird; don't know if that's true or not though)._

_I also kind of want a Kurt/Jesse bromance. Don't ask me why because I can't really answer you. It just appeals to me._

_So I checked my day planner to see what I need to get done over the weekend and I realized that I have a seven minute presentation for Monday which I haven't started, a political science and art test on Tuesday, as well as four papers due on Tuesday (I REALLY need to stop procrastinating). So, my entire weekend is going to be spent hitting the books. I hate homework, don't you?_


	20. Chapter 20

_You know what habit I really need to kick? Procrastination. Even when my work is piling up I find excuses _not_ to do it. I was working on the study questions for my test and looking up my philosopher for my presentation on Monday, and I ended up writing an outline for this chapter. XD_

_Thanks again for all the reviews/alerts/favorite. You guys are amazing._

-.-.-.-

"I can't believe that just happened," David groaned as he sunk down into an armchair.

"I can't believe Wes attacked that tall kid," Jeff said with a small laugh. This caused a few of the boys to laugh. "What were you thinking going at him alone? He had like two feet on you!"

"He wasn't _that_ tall," Wes rolled his eyes at the laughing boys around him."And, I wasn't really thinking. I just…acted."

"I'm sorry you guys got dragged into this," Blaine apologized to everyone in the room. He had an ice pack pressed against his cheek where Finn had hit him. Luckily, or unluckily depending on how you saw it, he was the only one who took a real hit. "And, thanks for not calling security on them."

"What was 'this' exactly anyway?" Samuel asked. "Why did Kurt's old glee club attack you?"

"Well, obviously," Tyler said in a snarky drawl. "Blaine did something to really upset Kurt and made him cry."

All the boys in the room turned to Blaine, though none of them looked at him accusingly, just Tyler.

"What did you do?" Nick's question voiced what almost every boy in the room had been thinking.

"Honestly? I don't know," Blaine sighed and put the ice pack down. He tried not to wince at the stinging on his cheek. "I've been trying to get a hold of him all morning but he hasn't gotten back to me."

-.-.-.-

"What happened?" Kurt asked when he saw all the boys of New Directions enter his house. Finn had a bruise forming on his face and Sam and Mike looked a bit rumpled up. Artie and Puck looked fine, but they both seemed a little angry.

"We went to Dalton," Sam answered.

"What? Why would you do that?" Kurt asked. Rachel and Mercedes gaped at the boys.

"You're my brother Kurt," Finn answered. "I'm not going to let that guy get away with hurting you."

"Yeah, you're my boy now," Puck piped up. "And I always got your back."

"Are you guys _stupid_?" Kurt shrieked. "What were you thinking?

"Kurt, we just wanted to—"

Finn's excuse was interrupted by Kurt punching him in the shoulder. For someone who looked as dainty as Kurt, he punched really hard. Puck stepped forward to try and reason with the boy, too, but Kurt slapped the back of his head. The other three boys remained where they stood for fear of Kurt's anger. They all looked at Kurt in shock. This was not the kind of reaction they were expecting.

"But Kurt," Sam spoke in a calm voice to try and reason with Kurt.

"You!" Kurt turned his attention to Sam. The blonde flinched, fearing that Kurt would hit him. But he didn't. Kurt just gave him a hard glare. "You should have known better than to lead these imbeciles to Dalton!"

"Kurt," Mike said in a quiet voice. "We just didn't want him to get away with hurting you."

"Yeah," Artie added. "You've been through so much already, Kurt."

Kurt pinched the bridge of his nose and took deep breaths to calm himself before turning his attention back to the boys. "Guys, I'm grateful, really I am; you have no idea how touched I am that you were all willing to do that for me. But, you guys acted irrationally. Do you know how much trouble you guys could have gotten into? Puck could have been sent to straight back to juvie! And you guys would have been right there with him! You can't just go into a place like Dalton and start a fight. I'm surprised security didn't come to throw you out."

"Oh, yeah," Sam's eyes widened with realization; he had been focusing on his anger so much that he forgot all about how the people of Dalton would have taken to people just bursting in and throwing punches.

"You guys are all idiots," Kurt scolded, but the tone of his voice was no longer harsh. The boys all gave him apologetic grins. The girls behind Kurt, who had been silent this entire time, giggled at how cute they all looked. Kurt rolled his eyes and held out his arms.

"Get over here," The boys all laughed and came together in a group hug.

-.-.-.-

After a long and rather awkward with his father and Carole, Kurt made his drive back to Dalton. He glanced at the time on his dashboard; it was already 7:30 PM. He'd get back to Dalton by around 9. That was a lot later than he intended, but he had a lot of explaining to do to his dad. Kurt sighed when he realized that he would probably have a lot of explaining to do once he got back to the school. The boys had attacked Blaine in a room filled with Warblers, so not only did he have to talk to Blaine, he probably had to explain what was going on to the Warblers. And, it probably didn't help that they now all knew that he had been crying.

Kurt was angry at how impulsive the boys had been. It didn't really bother him that he had to explain their actions to about twenty boys; what made him angry was that they risked getting into a lot of trouble by doing that. They were lucky they didn't have security called on them. But, Kurt was touched nonetheless. The boys had done this before with Karofsky, but this was different. Karofsky had physically assaulted him for weeks, but Blaine just hurt him emotionally. The fact that the guys made good on their promise to hurt Blaine if he did anything to him brought a smile onto his face.

When Kurt reached Dalton, he went straight to his room to put his stuff away. He found Trent lounging on his bed while Skyping with his girlfriend. Kurt greeted him quickly. Since Trent didn't say anything, Kurt figured that the news about the fight hadn't spread around the rest of the school yet. He anxiously made his way over to the Warblers' practice room while mentally preparing the apology he was going to give them.

He stopped in front of the door. He could make out noises coming from the other side of the door. It looked like the guys were still in there. Kurt took a deep breath then pushed open the doors. He saw the boys all lounging around the room. Some of them were huddled around a laptop watching something, and some were playing video games they set up in the corner. He saw Wes, David, and Blaine sitting in the couch in the middle of the room. He felt a wave of concern go through him when he saw the bruise on Blaine's face, but he pushed those thoughts aside.

He stepped further into the room and cleared his throat. The boy's stopped what they were doing to stare at the boy standing right in front of the doors. Kurt bit the inside of his cheek nervously. All eyes seemed to be on him. Blaine started to rise out of his seat.

"I just want to apologize," Kurt started. He still wasn't ready to face Blaine just yet. "What my step-brother and friends did was stupid. I know that kind of behavior isn't accepted here and I'm taking full responsibility for their actions. I'm really sorry if any of you got hurt because of them."

Kurt looked around the room. Tyler gave him a small smile which he returned. The other boys either nodded or smiled at him; he took that to mean that they accepted his apology. "If no one has anything to say, then I'll just go…"

"Kurt," Blaine's hand came out and stopped Kurt from closing the door behind him. "Kurt, please talk to me."

"I'm sorry about your face," Kurt said without looking at Blaine in the eyes. "Puck shouldn't have done that to you."

"Its fine," Blaine said dismissively. "But, Kurt, what's going on? Why aren't you talking to me? And what were the guys talking about? You were crying?"

"I have to go," Kurt turned his back to Blaine. He had felt the familiar stinging behind his eyes and the last thing he wanted was to start crying in front of Blaine.

"Kurt, baby, what's going on?" Blaine's voice sounded so hurt that it tugged at his heart.

"Why don't you go ask your new boyfriend?" Kurt spat out.

"What? _You're_ my boyfriend," Blaine put a hand on his shoulder, but he shrugged it off.

"I saw you at the Gap, Blaine."

"Kurt, I can explain that. It wasn't my idea, it was a da—"

"I don't care," Kurt cut him off. "I don't want to hear any excuses. I know what I saw. And Zach told me that you do outrageous things like that whenever you get bored with a relationship."

"Zach? What? When did you talk to Zach?"

"Doesn't matter," Kurt shrugged, his back still turned to Blaine. The tears were starting to pour down his face. "I heard all I had to hear from him and a few other guys."

Kurt stalked off before Blaine could say anymore. He didn't hear Blaine coming after him, and he was both disappointed and glad about that. He was glad because he didn't know what to say to Blaine at the moment and he was still a bit emotional. But he was disappointed because he had hoped that Blaine would come after him and make things right.

-.-.-.-

Blaine stayed rooted to the spot in front of the doors as he watched Kurt walk away. His brain screamed for him to follow after the boy, but he couldn't get his legs to move. So he was right, Kurt _had_ seen the performance at the Gap. But, why did he react this badly? Sure, the song wasn't something you just sing to a random person—even if that _was_ what he did—but why did he react so badly?

The other thing Kurt mentioned made him uneasy. Kurt talked to Zach, his ex-boyfriend. What had Zach told Kurt? And what had all those other people he talked to said to him? _Who_ were those other people? So many thoughts were running through Blaine's head at the moment. He thought back to his relationship with Zach and how it ended. He winced when he remembered that it hadn't ended too nicely. Zach had caught him with someone else after he had a few drinks too many at a party. So if Kurt talked to Zach, then he didn't hear very nice things.

"You didn't make him cry again, did you?" A cold voice asked from behind him. Blaine turned around and saw Tyler standing behind him. He was surprised he hadn't heard the door open and close.

"What do you want?" Blaine tried to walk past the boy to get back into the room, but Tyler stopped him.

"I think it's time for a long overdue chat," Tyler responded. "Shall we go for a walk?"

Blaine looked at Tyler suspiciously, but followed him outside nonetheless. It was cold outside, and the only lights came from the windows of the building and the streetlights. So, the two boys opted to stay close to the building.

"What are you trying to do Tyler?" Blaine was the first to speak.

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't play stupid. You've been acting like we don't know each other."

Tyler only shrugged. "I thought it would be easier that way. I knew I would have seen you here eventually, but I didn't think it would have been Kurt who introduced us."

"That's another thing," Blaine narrowed his eyes at the boy who was leaning casually against the wall of the building. "What the hell is up with you and Kurt?"

"We're friends," Tyler replied.

"That's bull and you know it," Blaine was a bit taken aback by how harsh his voice sounded.

"Fine," Tyler turned to face Blaine. "I'm attracted to him."

Blaine was shocked by the admission. He knew it was coming, there was no mistaking the looks he's seen Tyler give Kurt sometimes, but the bluntness that Tyler said it was unexpected.

"You know we're together," Blaine said slowly.

"Yeah," Tyler shrugged. "But I also _you_; I know firsthand what you're like in relationships. And, you might as well just save Kurt the rest of the hurt he's bound to feel and just end it now. And besides, it seems like it'll also benefit you; he has very protective friends."

"The only reason Kurt's upset right now was because of that stupid dare you gave me!"

"Even if he hadn't seen that little performance," Tyler stepped closer to Blaine and spoke in a menacing voice. "How long would it have been until you broke his heart?"

Blaine understood the hidden meaning behind Tyler's words. "This isn't about Kurt, it's about you, isn't it?"

"I just don't want you to hurt him the way you hurt me," Blaine could detect a hint of bitterness in the taller boy's voice.

"I'm not going to hurt him," Blaine said slowly.

"Bull!" Tyler screamed. "Do you even remember what happened between us last summer Blaine?"

"Of course I do," Blaine tried to keep calm while he could practically feel the anger rolling off of Tyler. "I'm sorry we didn't work out, but come on, we both knew that we only had the summer."

"I don't remember agreeing to anything like that," Tyler spat out. "And, you didn't even bother to end it! You go out with me all summer and then at the end of it, you leave without even saying anything. You didn't even _tell_ me that you were going back to school. You just left! You didn't answer any of my calls or texts or messages or anything! And a month later, I see a picture of you kissing your new boyfriend on Facebook? What the hell was that, Blaine?"

"Look," Blaine winced. He _did_ sound like a total jerk. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that. It was a mistake on my part, okay? But you can't use what happened between us to decide what's going to happen to me and Kurt."

"I _loved_ you, you know that?" Tyler let out a hollow laugh. "I had been so freaking happy with you. The night before you left, I told my parents about you. I came out and told them I had a boyfriend all in one night."

"What?" Blaine's eyes widened. He hadn't known that.

"Yeah," Tyler laughed again. "Dad was upset. Mom tried to be supportive, but I could tell she didn't really like it. I could see it in her eyes every time she looked at me. They pretty much ignored me after that. I think the reason they sent me here was so they didn't have to see me all the time."

"I'm so sorry, Tyler," Blaine said sincerely. He had no idea that happened. Now, he felt even worse for not answering Tyler's calls those months ago. Back then, he had thought it was for the best that he cut of all contact. He had experience with clingy ex's who just didn't know when to quit and he thought Tyler had been one of them.

"Don't be," Tyler waved his hand dismissively. "It felt great to finally get it out, so I guess I have you to thank for that. It didn't even bother me that my parents looked at me differently. Because at the time, I figured that at least I had _you_.

"I called you after that awkward conversation but you didn't answer. I went to your house the next day but your mom told me you had gone back to school already. That was like a slap in the face. At first, I thought that you had told me and I had just forgotten about it. But you never told me. You just left."

"Ty, I'm so sorry," Blaine repeated.

"If you think that I deliberately gave you that prank to get you and Kurt to break up so I could try to win you back or something, you're wrong. I just wanted to embarrass you with that. I'm still mad at you for what you did to me, Blaine. But I'm over you. After a month of trying to talk to you but getting nothing, I realized how stupid I was being and moved on. And I didn't know that Kurt was going to be there. I would have never done anything to hurt him because I actually _like_ him."

"I'm not going to do what I did to you to Kurt," Blaine said softly.

"When Kurt first introduced you as his boyfriend, the first thing I thought was that you were going to mess him up like you did to me. But then Kurt told me all about what you did for him with that picnic in the park or whatever. You never did anything close to that sweet for me, so I thought you really had changed and Kurt wasn't going to get hurt.

"But then Kurt and I got grouped up with Zach in Trig and when we were working one night he let slip that you guys dated last year. He told us how it was great for the beginning, how happy you made him, then you started growing distant, then he finds you with another guy at a party. Then you go into this drunken confession about how Zach got boring so you found someone more fun. That was when I realized it wasn't that different with how it was when I was with you. It was great the beginning of the summer, but as it came to an end, we spent less time together and you hardly ever called or texted me. I always had to be the one to send the first message or make the call."

"Kurt mentioned something about talking to other people, too." Blaine said softly.

"After Zach told us that story, Kurt told me that before your first date together, his roommate told him that you didn't' seem like the boyfriend type. He asked a few other people in his classes and they all said that same thing: you aren't the commitment type. You like flings and hook-ups, but when it comes to an actual relationship, you just get bored and leave after a while."

Blaine said nothing. This all explained why Kurt had been so upset.

"I'm not going to let you do that to Kurt," Tyler said after a while.

"I'm not going to hurt him," Blaine insisted.

"That's a load of crap, Blaine, and you know it. You and Kurt are reaching two months soon, right? You should be getting bored with him soon. You've been spending less time with him, haven't you?"

"No, I haven't," Blaine answered lamely.

"Of course you haven't," Tyler sneered. "I've been spending _more_ time with Kurt lately, so that could only mean you've been spending less time with him."

What he said was true. Lately, Blaine had been getting all these mixed feelings when he was around Kurt, so he spent a little less time with the boy so he could sort it out. Whenever he was with Kurt, he had so much fun and felt happier than he's ever been with anyone else. But at the same time, he felt guilt gnawing at him. Every time he kissed Kurt, the bet flashes into his mind and he feels like utter crap.

"I won't hurt him," Blaine said in a firm voice.

Tyler laughed. "Give me one reason I should believe you."

"Because I love him." The words were out of his mouth before he could even process it.

Two pairs of eyes widened at the admission. Blaine stared at Tyler, who looked at him with wide surprised eyes. Blaine thought about what he said and realized he had never meant anything more. He loved Kurt. He was _in love_ with Kurt. He never thought it was possible, but he was _in love_.

"I—Wow." Tyler managed to get out. "You never said that to me before, and I know I've said it to you a couple of times."

"I've never said it to _anyone_ before." Blaine said in a light voice. He was still in shock over his discovery.

"I—I'm sorry," Tyler looked down at Blaine. "I guess…I guess you really did change."

"Yeah," Blaine felt warmth flood through his body. He was in love with Kurt. That brought a smile onto his face. And now, everything just made sense. Love. Who knew that word could explain so much? It explained why he was so happy whenever he was hanging out with Kurt. It explained why he felt so horrible whenever he remembered the bet. It explained why he hated that Tyler was always so close to Kurt. It explained all the feelings he had been confused over the past couple of weeks.

"I can talk to Kurt if you want." Tyler offered. "The dare was my idea after all."

"Will you?" Blaine asked hopefully.

"Sure thing," Tyler smiled. "I'll go talk to him now."

Blaine watched Tyler leave. He could feel a ridiculously goofy smile lighting up his face, but he didn't care. He was in love. Now, he had to go find Wes and David and call of that stupid bet.

-.-.-.-

"Kurt?" Kurt stopped and turned around when he heard someone calling his name. He was curled up on an armchair in the corner of the junior commons. After talking to Blaine, he had walked around because he didn't want to return to his room with tears streaming down his face. After he controlled his tears, he decided to just sit around in the junior commons for a while. Seeing Trent Skype with his girlfriend would probably just make him feel even worse than he already was about the Blaine thing.

"Tyler?" The tall boy sat on the arm of the chair Kurt was sitting in and wrapped a comforting arm around his shoulder. Kurt welcomed the comforting gesture.

"I just got done talking to Blaine." Tyler said slowly. Kurt stiffened.

"Kurt," Tyler stood up and moved to kneel in front of Kurt. "This is all a big misunderstanding."

"I saw you guys helping him serenade that guy at the Gap," Kurt narrowed his eyes a little. It had only occurred to him now that he should also be angry with Tyler for helping Blaine.

"Kurt, that was all my fault," Tyler admitted slowly. Kurt cocked his head to the side. What was Tyler going on about?"

"During the bonding night, we were playing truth or dare. I dared Blaine to sing a raunchy song to a random person in the gap because I thought it would be pretty funny. And Blaine somehow convinced everyone to help him out so he wouldn't feel like too much of an idiot."

"So he didn't like that guy?" Kurt asked in a meek voice.

"He didn't even _know_ him." Tyler confirmed.

"But, what about what Zach and the others said about him getting bored with guys he dates? He's been distant lately. Even you said so."

"He's probably just been busy with school and stuff," Tyler answered. "You didn't see how upset he was when you left Kurt. He's obviously grown up a little since then and changed. And he told me he _really_ cares about you."

Kurt looked at Tyler. It seemed like the boy wasn't telling him something, but he didn't dwell on it too much. "Do you really think he's changed?"

"I'm sure he has," Tyler said in a sure voice. Kurt's chest felt a little lighter and he felt better than he did all day.

"Now," Tyler stood up and smiled down at Kurt. "You should go get cleaned up a little then go talk to him."

"I should. Thanks, Ty." Kurt smiled gratefully and walked out of the room.

-.-.-.-

After his talk with Tyler, Blaine went back to the practice room. When he got there, everyone was already packing up and getting ready to leave. He glanced down at his watch and saw that curfew was in twenty minutes. He told Wes and David to stay behind and helped everyone clean up. Once the last person was out of the room, Blaine turned to his friends.

"What happened?" Wes and David asked in unison.

"I'm in love with Kurt," Blaine said with a huge grin on his face.

"Really?"

"Are you sure?"

Blaine laughed at the expressions on his friends' faces and nodded. "I'm sure."

"I knew it!" David suddenly said. He and Wes shared a high five and Blaine raised an eyebrow at them.

"We knew there was something different about the way you acted around Kurt," Wes explained. "We were just waiting for you to come to terms with your feelings."

"He found out before the second month, you owe me twenty, Wesley!" David said with a laugh.

"You guys were betting on this?" Blain asked incredulously. His two friends merely shrugged.

"Speaking of bets," Blaine watched Wes pull out his wallet and hand David a bill. The three boys didn't notice the doors open just a tiny crack. "This whole thing about getting Kurt to fall in love with me and date him for three months,"

"Oh yeah," Wes looked up as he pocketed his wallet. "I actually already have the five hundred for that set aside."

"Same here," David had his wallet out to put away his money. The doors closed as quietly as they had opened.

"I want to call off the bet," Blaine said. He saw the looks Wes and David were giving him and mistook it for something else. "If you want, I'll give you guys each five hundred. I don't care anymore. I just want to call this bet off."

"Keep the money," Wes said as he exchanged a grin with David. "We were the ones who mentioned calling off the bet if you liked Kurt for real, remember?"

"Yeah," David walked up to Blaine and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "Just take us out to dinner or something for helping you out in that fight. Those guys would have kicked your ass if we didn't step in."

"Deal," Blaine said with a small laugh.

-.-.-.-

"He's in the bathroom," Kurt heard Trent saying when he opened the door to the bathroom. He walked back into their room and saw Blaine standing at the door.

"Kurt!" Blaine called when he saw Kurt exiting the bathroom he shared with Trent. Blaine gave him a tentative looking smile.

"Blaine," Kurt moved to the door while Trent went back to his laptop. "I was actually just about to call you."

"Oh," Blaine said with a small smile. "Um, can we talk?"

"Sure," Kurt moved outside so he was in the hall with Blaine.

"Did, um, did Tyler talk to you?" Blaine asked as he shifted nervously.

"Yeah, he did," Kurt smiled nervously at Blaine. "He told me all about the dare. I'm sorry I acted that way—I just…"

"Tyler told me about what Zach told you," Blaine said softly. "I know I may have come off as a total prick…"

"It's alright," Kurt said when Blaine remained silent. "I've seen worse break up scenarios before."

"I—Kurt, are we okay?" Blaine took a step closer to the smaller boy.

"Y-yeah, why wouldn't we be?" Kurt looked up at Blaine with wide eyes.

"I'm sorry, Kurt." Blaine said softly. He pulled Kurt into a small hug.

"No, I'm sorry," Kurt pulled away to look at Blaine. "I shouldn't have acted like that. It was stupid of me. It's just that after what Zach said, and what other people said, I guess I started to feel a little insecure. And then you started getting distant lately and I just got…so scared."

"I'm sorry," Blaine pulled Kurt against him and planted a soft kiss on forehead. "I've just been so busy with classes lately. I didn't realize I was doing that to you."

"It's okay," Kurt said softly. His arms were wrapped tightly around Blaine's waist. Blaine glanced down at the younger boy and realized that he probably still needed reassuring.

"Kurt," Blaine pulled away from Kurt and looked him in the eyes. "I know that those stories may have made me sound like a total jerk, and I'm not proud of any of that. But that was all in the past. This is different. _I'm _different. And, there's something about my relationship with you that I never had with those other guys."

"What?" Kurt asked curiously.

Blaine leaned his head close to Kurt's so that their foreheads were pressed together. "Because, I didn't love Zach or any of the guys I dated."

Kurt's eyes widened at the implication of what Blaine had just said. He moved away and stared at Blaine. He was unable to say anything.

"I love you, Kurt." Blaine said softly.

Kurt stared at Blaine in shock for a few seconds before his lips stretched out into a large grin. He closed the gap between his and Blaine's lips and the two shared a slow kiss.

"I love you, too, Blaine." Kurt said when they finally pulled apart. The two boys shared a grin before they moved in closer for another kiss.

-.-.-.-

Kurt returned to his room with a large grin on his face. Blaine had run off for his room because it was already curfew and he had to get back before the dorm advisor checked his room. Kurt went to lie down on his bed and pulled the covers over him. He pulled his phone to text Blaine but saw that he had a new message from Tyler.

_How long have you and Blaine been together?_

-.-.-.-

_I feel like his is the longest chapter I've written yet. I could be wrong though. Maybe it just felt wrong to me. I don't like the way the conversation between Tyler and Blaine turned out. One of my closest friends had to deal with a clingy ex, so I used that as inspiration. It was originally supposed to be that Tyler was a cutter and Blaine broke up with him because he couldn't handle the pressure of knowing that the only reason Tyler stopped cutting was because they were dating (I've had experience with a couple like that :/ wasn't pretty, I'll tell you that) But then I realized that was a little much and that Blaine being "bored" with Tyler and moving on fit the story better, but I couldn't write it out properly XD I've never had much experience with messy break up :/ I hope I didn't do too bad. _

_I finished this chapter earlier than I thought I would! I usually finish chapters at around 12-1AM but its only 10! OMG. Lol. So, I'll get this posted and then try to get some homework done. All I got done today was my MOST of my study guide questions for one of my tests and I typed in the philosopher I'm supposed to do a presentation in google. Still haven't looked at the info, though XD I'll get to that after I post this. Haha._

_So while I was working on my test questions, I got so distracted and worked out a summary for my new Klaine idea,__** Love Thy Enemy**__, it's a little long though and I have no idea how it sounds. So, if any of you are interested, I'd love to run it by someone. _

_All these spoilers and whatnot are killing me. I have no idea what to believe anymore. Also, Riker Lynch, Jeff in the Warblers, said something about how not all the spoilers are true on his twitter. So, I'm going to just wait (anxiously) for the regionals episode. I hear it's the one after "Sexy". I can't wait to see Holly Holiday again. I loved her in the substitute._

_I also realized that I haven't done the "Blaine makes a discovery" thing in this chapter or the last, but *shrug* I couldn't come up with any that fit. I'll try to bring them back in later so feel free to mention some you want to see. I may just be able to incorporate it into the story._

_**Possible **__scenes for the next chapter (I'll never really know until I write it out. I have a bunch of scenes for this story planned out from beginning to end, but I can never piece them together until I start typing): The breadsticks scene from SLS (I liked that scene so I'm giving it my own twist), Finn and ND boys meet up with Blaine again, Burt wants to meet Blaine, and Blaine is surprised that Tyler is being hostile to him, because he thought they put things behind them after their little chat. _

_Throw some suggestions my way because I'm a little stuck on what comes next. I have a general idea of what comes next, but I have nothing concrete at the moment XD_


	21. Chapter 21

_Thanks for the reviews/alerts/favorites, guys._

-.-.-.-

Kurt woke up the next morning in a great mood. His mind kept going back to last night with Blaine. _Blaine loved him_. Those words echoed in his head as he did his usual morning routines. Once he was dressed, he unplugged his phone from where it had been charging over night. He saw a few 'Happy Valentine's Day' messages from his friends at McKinley. He replied to each one before heading out.

"Hey," Kurt was surprised to see a smiling Blaine as soon as he opened the door.

"Hey," Kurt replied with a smile. The two boys met together in a chaste kiss. Blaine brought out his hand that had been behind his back and handed Kurt a rose.

"Happy Valentine's Day,"

Kurt repeated the words back to the other boy as he accepted the flower. Kurt closed his dorm door behind him and Blaine made their way down to the dining hall.

"So, where do you want to go tonight?" Blaine asked as he took Kurt's hand into his. "I was supposed to work it out yesterday but there was so much going on that I didn't have time. But, there's a new Japanese place that opened up last week. Do you want to go there and try it out?"

"Oh, Blaine, I'm so sorry," Kurt quickly apologized. "I know today was Valentine's, but after yesterday's events, I didn't think we'd be going out today. I promised to meet Rachel and Mercedes at Breadsticks for a little Lonely Hearts Club dinner."

A small pout appeared on Blaine's face. "Oh, well, you can't cancel on them…"

"I'm sorry, Blaine. I'm sure they'll understand if—"

"No," Blaine interrupted him and gave his hand a soft squeeze. "I don't want you to cancel on your friends, Kurt. Hang out with them. We can go out tomorrow or something. I'll just hang out with the rest of the guys."

"Are you sure?" Kurt bit his bottom lip nervously.

"Sure," Blaine grinned. "The guys are planning on going to the park and singing for all the couples there. Those who don't have dates usually do that every year. And, its good practice."

"No one has a date this year?" Kurt asked.

"I think Kyle and Samuel have dates," Blaine shrugged. "Wes has girlfriend problems right now and David took his girlfriend out last Friday because she can't go out on school nights. And everyone else is free tonight."

"Do you think the guys mind changing venues tonight?" Kurt asked after a while.

"I don't think so," Blaine said with a shrug. "Why?"

"Well, what if they came and performed at Breadsticks?" Kurt suggested. "I could come perform with you guys, and then we'll join the girls for dinner."

"Are you sure, Kurt? I don't want to impose on your 'lonely hearts club'." Blaine chuckled lightly at the name.

"I'm sure," Kurt said with a roll of his eyes. "The other Warblers will be there so it's not like it's a date or anything. And I'll even invite the rest of New Directions."

"Alright," Blaine smiled

"I love you," Kurt said with a small smile. He liked saying those words.

"I love you, too," Blaine leaned in and brushed their lips together before they entered the dining hall.

-.-.-.-

Kurt told Wes his idea during breakfast and after some thought, the boy agreed. He set out to pass it on to the other Warblers. By lunch, it was confirmed. They were all going to meet up after school and carpool to Lima. They had already figured out who was riding with whom. They had also cleared it with the Director of the Arts Department so that if they return a little late and miss curfew, they wouldn't get in trouble.

But, Blaine spent the rest of his afternoon classes feeling anxious. During World History, David had pointed out that the rest of New Directions was going to be there, so that would mean that he would see the boys who had attacked him yesterday. Blaine's cheek, which he slathered with tons of concealer to hide the bruise, seemed to throb when he thought about seeing those boys again. He brought it up with Kurt and the boy said that he had talked to them already when he told them he was going to be there. But, it did nothing to ease Blaine's nerves.

Once classes were over, Blaine dashed over to Kurt's class so he could walk the boy to his room. They didn't have to meet Wes and David in the parking lot for another half hour.

"Are you alright?" Kurt asked when he walked up to Blaine in the hall. "You look a little off."

"Just a long day," Blaine shrugged. He reached down for Kurt's hand and they left for the dorm buildings.

"Same here," Kurt readjusted his bag strap on his shoulder. "I'm so glad classes are over."

"Excited to go back to Lima?" Blaine tried to keep the anxiety out of his voice.

"Yeah," Kurt said with a small smile. He looked over at Blaine with a thoughtful expression on his face. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"I guess I'm just a little nervous," Blaine admitted.

"Nervous about what? Singing?"

"No, I don't mind the singing. But, the last time I saw your friends wasn't exactly the best of experiences."

"I talked to them last night." They had reached Kurt's room. Blaine let go of Kurt's hand to let him open the door. "I explained the misunderstanding and if anyone should be dreading this meeting, it should be them. They were being stupid."

"I guess," Blaine leaned against the doorframe while Kurt put his things away. Once the younger boy was done, they left and made their way to Blaine's floor. "But the last time I saw them, Puck nearly broke my face and Finn, Mike, and Sam tried to throw themselves at me. And if Artie wasn't in a wheelchair, he probably would have done the same."

"They're going to apologize to you," Kurt reassured him. "Is anyone else worried about this?"

"I think a few of the guys are a little nervous, but no, no one's as freaked out as I am." Blaine had pulled out his keys to open his dorm door, but he saw that it was already open. He pushed the door open and saw Wes and David inside.

"Hey, you two," David glanced down at their interlaced fingers and smiled.

"We're leaving in fifteen minutes," Wes announced; his attention was on the sheet music in his hands. Blaine led Kurt into the room.

"Who else is riding with us?" Kurt asked from where he had taken a seat on Blaine's bed.

"Tyler," David answered. "Can you tell him to meet us down by the parking lot in say, ten minutes?"

"Sure," Kurt reached into his pants' pocket for his phone. Blaine sat down next to him and wrapped his arm around Kurt's slender waist. The younger boy smiled at him and leaned back against him. Blaine rested his head on Kurt's shoulder and watched type out his message to Tyler.

Once Kurt pressed send, he opened his inbox. He had a few unread messages from his friends at McKinley. They were all saying that they were going to be at Breadsticks that night. Blaine hugged Kurt tightly and pressed a kiss to the boy's pale cheek.

"Huh, Finn can't make it tonight," Kurt commented. Blaine glanced down at the phone in his hand and saw that Kurt was reading a message from Mercedes.

"Why?" Wes looked up from his paper. Blaine realized that Wes might have been a bit nervous of seeing Finn because of that brawl they had.

"He has mono," Kurt answered. "Quinn has it, too."

"Quinn?" Blaine lifted his head from Kurt's shoulder.

"Isn't mono passed through kissing?" David asked.

"Does that mean Finn and Quinn kissed?" Wes chuckled and Blaine couldn't help the snort of laughter. The rhyming names were a little funny.

"Finn's been running a kissing booth to raise money for glee club," Kurt answered as he typed awa on his phone. "He probably got it from that."

"How did Quinn get it though?" Blaine asked. "Isn't she dating Sam?"

"No idea," Kurt shrugged. His phone beeped. "Tyler says he's going to head to the parking lot now."

"We should get going, too." Wes stood up from his bed and gathered his papers. He grabbed his car keys from his desk and made his way out of the room with David following behind him.

Blaine stood up and held his hand out to Kurt, who took it. Blaine pulled him up off the bed. He wrapped his other hand around the slim waist and held Kurt close to his chest. He grinned down at the boy and kissed him slowly. Kurt's lips moved against his and Blaine couldn't help but think that no other kiss had ever felt this nice before. Blaine's tongue slipped between Kurt's slightly parted lips. Kurt's arms wound around his neck as he tried to deepen the kiss.

"Hey, we have to get going!" The two boys broke apart to see David standing by the door with a smirk on his face. Kurt turned a light pink and mumbled a quick apology. Blaine only glared at his friend, who smiled back Blaine made sure he had his phone and keys on him before he took Kurt's hand again and led him out of the room.

The car ride was awkward at best. Wes drove and David sat shotgun. That left Kurt, Tyler, and Blaine sitting in the back, with Kurt between the two boys. Wes was going over what songs they were going to sing and even led them through some simple runs while he drove. But, what made the trip uncomfortable for Blaine was the way that Tyler was looking at him.

Blaine had thought that after their conversation last night, things would be okay between them again. But, the other boy glared at him over Kurt's shoulder whenever the countertenor wasn't looking. Blaine had shot him questioning looks, but only got cold glares in return.

-.-.-.-

They went straight to Breadsticks when they got to Lima. Wes went to talk to the manager to make sure they knew what was happening. While Wes talked to the management, Blaine asked to borrow his car so they could make a quick trip to Kurt's house so they could check on Finn. After promising that they'll be back soon and that they'll apologize to Finn for him, Blaine was seated behind the wheel with Kurt in the seat beside him.

"Are your parents going to be home?" Blaine asked as he turned into Kurt's neighborhood.

"Just Carole," Kurt replied. "But she's leaving for work soon. Dad won't be home until later."

"Are they going to see you at Breadsticks tonight?" Blaine asked. He started to feel nervous again. Kurt had told him that he told his dad about his relationship. He wasn't sure if he was ready to meet Kurt's father just yet.

"No, he and Carole had made plans weeks ago. It's their first valentine's as a married couple."

"Oh, okay." Blaine pulled up to Kurt's house and shut the door. He followed the boy out and up the walkway to his front door. Kurt pushed the door open and Blaine followed him inside. They heard noises coming from the kitchen and went in there.

Blaine saw Kurt's step-mother, Carole, standing by the stove and stirring something in a pot. She turned around when she heard the door close.

"Hey, Kurt." She saw Blaine standing behind him and gave him a small smile. "Blaine."

Blaine greeted her politely and wondered how much she knew. Kurt told him that he explained the situation to his dad and everything was okay now. But Kurt had left out the part where they both confessed their love for each other.

"What are you making?" Kurt asked. He gave Blaine's hand a comforting squeeze under the table. He must have noticed the tension that was suddenly in the room.

"Soup for Finn," Carole replied. "He's feeling horrible."

"Oh, we should go down and see him soon," Kurt replied. "We can't really stay long. We have to get back to Breadsticks for a quick practice run."

"Really? That's too bad. Your dad really wanted to see you and Blaine. He should be home in about half an hour."

Blaine fidgeted in his seat slightly. He was so not ready to meet Kurt's dad. Carole seemed to have notice that he was feeling a little nervous and smiled kindly at him.

"I wish we could, Carole, but we really have to get back. We only came by to check on Finn."

"In that case," Carole turned the stove off and poured the contents of the pot into a large bowl. "Your dad wants you home this weekend. And he wants Blaine to come with you."

Blaine turned to Kurt. He hoped that the boy would say that they couldn't make it, but at the same time, a part of him wanted to just get it over with. Kurt turned to him and raised an eyebrow. Blaine understood the silent question. He nodded slowly.

"Sure, we'll make it," Kurt stood up from his seat and went to take the bowl from Carole. "I'll bring this down to Finn. Don't you have to get ready for work?"

"Oh!" Carole glanced up at the clock. "I do! I'm running late already. Tell Finn to take it easy the rest of the night, okay? Thanks, hon." She kissed Kurt on the cheek and smiled at Blaine before she dashed out of the kitchen and up the stairs.

Kurt rummaged through the cabinets in the kitchen and pulled out a tray. He placed the bowl into it before reaching into another one and taking out a cup. He handed it to Blaine. "Can you get some juice from the fridge?"

"Sure thing," Blaine took the cup and went to the refrigerator to get some juice. After he filled the cup, he followed Kurt down to the basement.

The room was dark so Kurt had to turn on the lights before they made their way down the stairs. Finn, who was on his bed, looked up when the lights turned on.

"Hey," Kurt brought the tray to the bed and put it down on the bedside table. "I hear you have mono."

"Yeah," Finn grunted as he struggled to sit up. His voice sounded a little hoarse, so Blaine handed him the cup of juice. He accepted it gratefully and drank down half of it in a matter of seconds.

"How did Quinn get it?" Kurt asked.

"She came to the kissing booth to support the glee club." Finn answered. He put the juice down and took the bowl of soup Kurt handed him.

"Does Sam know?"

"He was there," Finn answered before he brought the bowl to his lips to drink it down.

"Well, we really have to get going," Kurt stood up from the bed. "Wes wants us back at Breadsticks to practice before tonight. He says sorry for hitting you, by the way."

"Oh yeah," Finn put the half finished soup away for a while. He looked up at Blaine. "Hey man, I'm really sorry about yesterday. I guess we over reacted. It's just that we saw Kurt crying and I guess our anger got the better of us."

"It's alright," Blaine gave the sick boy a small smile. "It wasn't that bad. And, I guess I should be thankful that Kurt has a great group of friends looking out for him."

"Yeah," Finn said in a weak voice. He lay back on the pillows. "Just…don't make him cry again, alright?"

"I promise you I won't, at least not on purpose," Blaine said honestly. Kurt took his hand and beamed at him and he felt his heart swell with love for the boy. He never thought he'd ever feel this way.

"We have to go," Kurt repeated. "Feel better, okay?"

Finn nodded tiredly and bid goodbye to the two boys.

-.-.-.-

"So, happy Valentine's Day everybody," Kurt said into the microphone. Blaine and the rest of the Warblers made their way onto the stage while Kurt spoke. Kurt hurried to his position when the Warblers began to sing. Blaine looked back to flash him a quick grin before he bowed his head and waited for his cue.

"_You think that people would have had enough of silly love songs,"___Blaine moved away from the group and stood in front of them. He danced a little while he sang. The boys behind him moved forward and he walked off the stage. He went behind the table where Rachel, Mercedes, Tina, and Mike sat first. He circled around so he passed by each of the members of New Directions who were present.

"_And what's wrong with that? I'd like to know 'cause here I go again," _Blaine slowly made his way back to the rest of the Warblers and stood next to Kurt.

"_I love you,"_ Blaine looked right at Kurt when he sang the last word. The two boys shared a look and began moving like they practiced.

"_Love doesn't come in a minute,"_ He stopped in front of the table with Puck and Lauren when he sang this. He felt a little awkward because he wasn't sure if things were okay with Puck so he moved when he sang the next line.

"_Sometimes it doesn't come at all,"_ He gave Santana an apologetic look for singing that line to her. But, she was the closest person to Puck and Lauren who was sitting by himself. He noticed that Sam was also by himself but he had been too far back. Blaine dance around until he was beside Kurt again.

"_Love isn't silly at all_,_"_ He and Kurt shared another look. A few weeks ago, Blaine would have said that he didn't' believe in love. But, Kurt had changed that for him. Kurt ran off to hug Mercedes and Rachel and Blaine noticed Tyler, who had been standing near Kurt. The boy was giving him a menacing look. Blaine raised an eyebrow but continued singing. He moved to the center of the stage while the boys positioned themselves around him. He'll worry about Tyler's weird attitude towards him tomorrow.

At the end of their song, the restaurant burst into applause. Blaine smiled gratefully at the crowd. He glanced back at Kurt and saw him mouthing 'thank you' to his friends. The Warblers exchanged a few high fives and left the stage. They had agreed to sing a few more songs after they had something to eat.

The members of New Directions left their tables and went to the larger ones in the back. The Warblers and New Directions seated themselves in two large tables and flipped through their menus.

"What was that about, prep school?" Santana asked from across Blaine. The Warblers were all crowded around on table, but Blaine had decided to sit with Kurt, who wanted to sit with Rachel and Mercedes.

"Sorry," Blaine gave her a sheepish smile. "But you were the closest person who wasn't a 'couple'."

"Speaking of couples," Kurt spoke up from beside Blaine. "Since when have you and Lauren been together, Puck?"

"We aren't together," Lauren answered before Puck could say anything.

"I'm 'wooing' her," Puck clarified. Kurt raised an elegant eyebrow but went back to his menu.

"Hey," Sam, who had been sitting next to Santana, spoke up after a while. "I just want to say sorry for yesterday."

"Yeah," Mike and Artie looked up. Both boys looked apologetic. The Warblers from the next table had stopped their chattering and looked at them.

"I'm sorry I hit you," Puck said softly. He didn't seem like the type who apologized earlier.

"It's alright," Blaine said after he realized that everyone was waiting for him to say something. "It doesn't hurt that much."

That was a lie, of course. His face still stung a little, but he wasn't going to let them know that.

"If it makes you feel any better, I think I still have a bump on the back of my head from where Kurt hit me."

"Kurt hit you?" Blaine looked at Puck in surprise before he turned to his boyfriend beside him.

"He was a little upset that we went to Dalton," Artie supplied.

"Because you guys were idiots," Kurt said with a roll of his eyes. A few more apologies were said while the waiters came to take their orders.

"You know," Jeff turned in his seat to talk to Sam. "I didn't think you'd be that hard to hold back in a fight."

Sam laughed and turned slightly in his seat. "Being in McKinley does that to you."

After that, Santana asked to switch seats with Jeff so she could sit next to Wes. Jeff didn't mind because this meant he could continue his conversation with Sam without having to turn in his seat. After that, a bunch of other people moved. Everyone mixed together in the two tables.

"I'm glad they're all getting along," Kurt whispered into Blaine's ear while the waiters brought them their food. Blaine looked around and saw that all the Warblers and New Direction kids were mingling together.

"Hey, what's up with Tyler?" Blaine asked when he noticed Tyler talking to Tina and Mike at the other table.

"I don't know," Kurt and Blaine thanked the waiter who brought them their food. "He's been really quiet today. He seemed fine when we talked last night."

"Maybe something happened?" Blaine suggested after he swallowed his first bite.

"I don't think so." Kurt poked at his salad. "I didn't see him again after we talked, but we texted for a while before he went to bed. It didn't seem like anything was bothering him."

"You were texting?"

"He texted me out of nowhere asking how long we've been dating." Kurt answered. "Then he just started asking questions about how we met and stuff like that."

"Why was he asking those questions?" Blaine glanced over to Tyler. Even though Tyler had admitted to liking Kurt, he assumed the boy was going to lay off because he knew about Blaine's feelings.

"I dunno," Kurt shrugged. "He wouldn't say. Maybe he was just curious."

"Maybe," Blaine spared one last glance at Tyler. Tyler looked up at the same time and their eyes locked. Tyler's looked cold and hostile. Blaine frowned and turned back to his food. He had a bad feeling about…something. He wasn't sure what it was yet, but he had a feeling it was going to be bad.

-.-.-.-

_I know I went against the whole Warblers don't perform at informal settings thing, but I made them sing in the Gap earlier, soooo, they tend to do random performances in parks because I said so :D haha. _

_Also, I know I said I wouldn't pay attention to spoilers and just wait to see the episode, but (SPOILER? MAYBE) WHAT IS THIS ABOUT JESSE BEING BLAINE'S FIRST LOVE? I mean, I would love to see Jesse come back to the show. And I love this Blaine/Jesse friendship that's been showing up in some stories, but… this? I am…speechless. It's going around on tumblr right now so I don't know whether to believe it or not. I still want a jesse/kurt bromance though. And more warbler screen time. Am I the only one who wants more of them to talk? I'd love to hear their voices._

_Anyway, this is just a random "chill" chapter before the drama comes on. Kurt can't have his heart broken in one chapter, get it fixed in the end of said chapter, only to have it broken again in the next one. But, I don't really like the way this turned out :/_


	22. Chapter 22

_I broke my one update a day streak :( That's kind o disappointing. But, school finally caught up to me. I had to work out my presentation (I think I did alright.) then I had two tests today. I still have about 5 papers to work on (does anyone have a cure for procrastination? I really need to kick this habit), so I'm going to work on that while working on this chapter._

_Anyway, thanks for the reviews/alerts/favorites_

-.-.-.-

"You've been standing in front of that thing for almost an hour now," Blaine looked up at the mirror to see Wes's reflection looking right back at him.

"Kurt and I are going to dinner with his family today. I want to make a good impression," Blaine readjusted his tie for the umpteenth time and fixed the collar of his dress shirt.

"But, you've met his family before. We even hung out with Finn."

"But I've never met Kurt's dad before," Blaine turned away from the mirror to look at Wes. "Or at least, not as Kurt's boyfriend; I don't want him to hate me."

"Didn't you say Kurt's dad was pretty accepting of him being gay?"

"He is, but he's also really protective of Kurt. When we were at Breadsticks, Puck told me that Kurt's dad wanted to come after me, too, when he saw how upset I made his son. So, he already dislikes me, I don't want to do anything to make him hate me more."

"I'm sure you'll be fine," Wes reassured him. "But it's already 2:30. Shouldn't you be meeting up with Kurt soon?"

"Crap!" Blaine took one last glance at his reflection to make sure everything was okay before he rushed past Wes and into their room. He went to his closet and pulled out a simple gray coat. "I should get going. I'll see you tonight."

"Good luck!" Wes called out as hurried out the door.

When they arrived at Kurt's house, Finn was the only one home. "Mom and Burt went out to get something for dessert."

"It's good to see that you're feeling better," Kurt said as he took off his coat. Finn led the two boys to the living room where they all sat down. Finn sat in the armchair and Blaine sat beside Kurt on the couch. He was grateful when Kurt took his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"Yeah," Finn shrugged and leaned back on the chair.

"Something bothering you?" Kurt's thumb rubbed reassuring circles on the back of Blaine's palm.

"Did you know that Sam and Quinn broke up?" Finn asked.

"What?" Kurt explained. "When? And why didn't anyone tell me? Is she alright?"

"I guess," Finn shrugged. "She's been pretty quiet about everything."

"What about Sam?"

"He's with Santana now."

"What?" Blaine spoke up. Wes had once told him that he was attracted to Santana. He'd be disappointed to know that she had a boyfriend now.

"How did that happen?" Kurt asked. Finn only grunted in response and shrugged his shoulders.

Kurt was about to ask him something else but the sound of the front door opening and a female voice calling out 'we're home' got their attention. Footsteps could be heard approaching the living room. Blaine stood up from his seat to greet the boys' parents.

"Hey, boys," Carole smiled at all three of the boys as she made her way to the kitchen with a box of some sort of cake in her hands.

"Mr. Hummel," Blaine stepped forward and stuck his hand out. "It's good to see you again."

Burt looked down at Blaine's hand with an expression the teen couldn't decipher. He saw the older man look at something over his shoulder before he grunted out a response and reluctantly shook Blaine's hand. Blaine figured that Kurt must have done something behind him.

Blaine let his hand fall back down to his side. He bit the inside of his cheek as he waited, not quite sure what he was going to do next. He felt weird standing there, but he didn't want to sit down until Kurt's dad sat down. But, the man just stood there and looked at Blaine with calculating eyes. Kurt was behind him so Blaine didn't know what he was doing. And from his peripheral vision, he could see Finn sitting on the arm chair and watching the two standing males with mild interest. Luckily, Carole chose that time to come in.

"Dinner's ready," She announced. She put a hand on Burt's arm and led him to the kitchen. Blaine let out a breath of relief. Finn stood up and walked into the kitchen. Blaine felt a hand wrap around his waist and give him a comforting squeeze; he turned to his side to see Kurt smiling at him.

"Don't let him intimidate you," Kurt said helpfully as he made his way to the kitchen with Blaine following behind him. Burt sat at the head of the table, with Carole on his left and Finn beside her. Kurt sat on Burt's other side and Blaine took the next to them.

After the food was passed around and everyone took a few bites, the interrogation that Blaine had been dreading started.

"So, how long have you been seeing my son, Blaine?" Burt asked as he cut his chicken breast with a knife nonchalantly.

"It's going to be exactly two months this coming Wednesday, sir." Blaine saw Kurt smiling at his answer. He also saw Carole give the two of them a smile and felt a little better—until Burt spoke up again.

"So when I saw you the first time when we went to get Kurt at Dalton, the two of you were already dating?" Burt's eyebrows furrowed slightly.

"We'd only been together for a day, dad." Kurt spoke up. Blaine silently thanked him; he had no idea how he was going to answer that. "I didn't want to spring it on you all of a sudden so I told Blaine not to tell you."

"And when exactly did you plan on telling me?" Burt turned all his attention to Kurt and Blaine relaxed a little. Kurt didn't look bothered at all by this conversation so Blaine let him handle it for now.

"When I was sure this relationship was going to last," Kurt answered simply. "I didn't want to have to go through what was only going to be an awkward time telling you if it wasn't going to last very long."

"So are you sure it's going to last then?" Burt asked slowly. Finn and Carole turned to Kurt.

"Yes." Kurt answered without missing a beat. Blaine felt a smile tug at his lips.

"What are your intentions with my boy?" Burt suddenly turned to Blaine.

"I care about your son very much, Mr. Hummel," Blaine began the small speech he had been practicing all night. "He's smart, talented, and just plain amazing."

He saw a blush form on Kurt's face while Carole smiled brightly at him and Finn focused on eating his dinner.

"I feel like one of the luckiest people alive because he agreed to be in a relationship with me." Blaine continued. "And, I want you to know that you have nothing to worry about. I won't pressure Kurt into doing anything he isn't comfortable with. I'm more than willing to wait for him. And I promise that I'll take care of him and I won't do anything to hurt him."

"If I remember right, the first time I heard about you from my son was when he was crying over something you did," Burt said darkly.

"_Dad!_" The cute blush had left Kurt's face as he narrowed his eyes slightly. "I already told you that wasn't Blaine's fault. It was just a big misunderstanding."

"Mr. Hummel," Blaine spoke up before Kurt could continue. "I know that gave you a bad impression of me, but I swear to you that I didn't intend to hurt him. It was a stupid dare that was more embarrassing for me than anything I've done before. And that includes the time I had to put on a ridiculous costume and sing at a theme park as a favor for my mom's friend."

Kurt turned to raise an eyebrow at him; he knew that Kurt was going to ask him about it later.

"I see," Burt said slowly. He put down his fork and knife and looked at Blaine, who tried his hardest not to fidget in his seat. But, the man's gaze was making him nervous.

"Alright then," Burt said after what felt like forever to Blaine, but was only really under a minute. "But if I ever see my boy crying again because of something you did, there will be hell to pay, understood?"

"Yes, sir."

-.-.-.-

"That wasn't too bad," Kurt said with a small smile as they made their way back to Dalton. Carole had taken over the conversation after that. She had focused more on asking Blaine about himself so that they could all get to know him. Kurt noticed that his dad looked impressed when he found out Blaine was a big football fan. At least they'll have something to talk about whenever Blaine came over.

"Your dad still scares me," Blaine replied. "I'm just glad that your dad didn't come with Finn and Puck after that incident. I probably would've died for sure."

Kurt rolled his eye at his boyfriend. "He's just trying to intimidate you. But I can tell he likes you."

"How do you know?"

"I can just tell," Kurt responded. "Finn likes you enough and Carole thinks you're the sweetest thing ever. Dad hasn't told me what he thinks about you yet, but I can tell he approves. If that horrible scenario with the Gap thing last week gave him a bad impression of you, I'm sure your manners made up for it. You were so freaking gentleman."

"I just wanted to make sure they liked me," Blaine shrugged.

After Blaine had dropped him off to his room and kissed him goodnight, Kurt heard his phone go off. He assumed it was Mercedes asking how the dinner went. But, he was surprised to see Tyler's name on the screen. The other boy hadn't talked to him much since that night he explained the whole thing about the dare.

_I need to talk to you. Can I go to your dorm real quick?_

"Hey, what time is it?" Kurt asked.

"9:47," Trent answered. It was still early enough so Kurt said he could come. Not even a couple of minutes later, a knock sounded. Kurt went to answer it. He saw Tyler standing outside the door. Kurt went outside and closed the door behind him so Trent wouldn't hear them. They were the only ones in the hall.

"What did you want to talk about?" Kurt asked.

"I've been spending all week wondering if I should do this," Tyler ran a nervous hand through his hair. "Then I realized that if I were in that situation, I'd want someone to tell me."

"Tell me what, exactly?" The sad smile Tyler gave him was making Kurt nervous.

"Kurt, I don't know how to say this without hurting you, so I'll just be frank, okay? Blaine doesn't love you."

"What?" Kurt felt like a slushy had just been thrown at his face.

"After I talked to you last week, I went back to tell Blaine. When I got there, he was talking to Wes and David about something and I overheard them. Blaine's only going out with you because of a bet with Wes and David."

"No, he isn't." Kurt thought his voice sounded a little out of breath. He remembered the look on Blaine's face the night he confessed his love for him and the smile on his face whenever they said it. There was no way that wasn't real. "He loves me."

"No, he doesn't," Tyler insisted in a soft, sympathetic voice. "I heard them Kurt. That's why I asked you how long you've been together. You were supposed to fall in love with Blaine and be together with him for three months. I think they were betting five hundred dollars or something."

"You're lying," Kurt glared at Tyler, his eyes hardening and his voice becoming cold. "Blaine wouldn't do that, and neither would Wes and David."

"I'm telling you the truth, Kurt." Tyler looked at him with sad eyes that Kurt couldn't help but think pitied him. "This was just a game to those guys. They don't really care; _Blaine_ doesn't care."

"No." Kurt shook his head. He refused to believe what Tyler was telling him.

"Look," Tyler sighed. "If you don't want to believe me then fine; I just wanted to tell you so you didn't get too hurt by all of this. I guess I can understand why you refuse to believe it. But I swear to you it's the truth. As soon as I can find something to _show_ you that _I'm_ the one being honest, I'll come right back to you. But for now, all I ask is that you be careful."

Kurt glared at Tyler's retreating back. He knew that Blaine cares about him,_ loves_ him. He knew that without a doubt. So, why would Tyler tell him something like that? But, as Kurt lay in bed that night, he couldn't help but replay the conversation in his mind. Tyler didn't have a reason to lie to him; and, why would he make up a story like that? Where would he even get such a stupid idea? Kurt pulled the covers tighter around his body and fell into a restless sleep.

-.-.-.-

_I'm really liking the idea of Wes/Santana (Wentana?) I think it's interesting and since canon!wes is so stuck up, Santana can help him loosen up a little :)_ _But that's just me. _

_Anyway, this was short and unexciting because I'm about ready to KTFO. I've had so little sleep the past couple of days and it's making me sick all over again which sucks because I just got better. Ugh. Sooo, more later. Don't forget to tell me what you think :D_


	23. Chapter 23

_Thanks for all the reviews/alerts/favorites. You guys are great_

-.-.-.-

"Kurt, are you alright?" Kurt looked up from his grapefruit and gave Blaine a small smile.

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Blaine cocked his head to the side. Kurt had been quiet since he went to his room this morning to walk with him to breakfast.

"I have a test today," Kurt responded. "I stayed up a little late last night studying."

"I'm sure you'll do just fine." Blaine reached down and gave Kurt's hand a gentle squeeze. Kurt smiled up at him, but Blaine couldn't help but think it was a little strained.

"Hey guys, guess what," Wes said as he and David sat down across from them. Blaine noticed a flyer in the Asian's hand.

"What?" Blaine asked.

"They posted up the flyer for the spring production. Auditions are this Friday." David answered.

"Spring production?" Kurt asked curiously.

"Every year, Dalton puts on a play with our sister school, St. Marianne's—it's an all girls school not too far from here," Wes explained. "We're doing Once Upon a Mattress."

"You guys act?" Kurt raised an eyebrow at Wes and David.

"I do, sometimes," David answered. "Wes usually ends up directing."

"Fitting," Kurt said bluntly before turning to Blaine."Are you going to try out?"

"I don't know," Blaine shrugged. "I was thinking about it. I actually forgot about it."

"You should," Kurt smiled at him. "I bet you'd be a good actor."

"He's pretty good," Wes answered. "He doesn't usually try out for big roles, though. But, what about you, Kurt? Do you want to try out?"

"I don't know," Kurt shrugged. "I've never really tried acting before. The closest I've ever been to being in a play was when Mr. Shue wanted the glee club to put on a play to fundraise, but we ended up not doing it."

"Why didn't you?" Blaine asked.

"We didn't want to risk getting the club in too much trouble with the administration."

"Why would you guys get in trouble for putting on a play?" Wes asked.

"We were supposed to do _Rocky Horror_," Kurt answered. "The script was edited a bit and we all had the costumes worked out and our lines and songs mostly memorized, but then Mr. Shue decided not to go through with it."

"Your school was going to let you do Rocky Horror?" David asked with surprise in his voice. "Isn't that a little…much for a high school play?"

Kurt only shrugged. Blaine though back to what he knew about Rocky Horror. "What part were you playing, Kurt?"

"Riff Raff." Blaine tried to picture the boy in the costume but was having a hard time doing it.

"Well, enough about that," Wes said with enthusiasm in his voice. "The two of you are reaching the two month mark this week, aren't you?"

"Wednesday," Blaine answered proudly. He turned to look at Kurt. The younger boy had a smile on his face that didn't quite reach his eyes and he was giving Wes a calculating look.

"This is Blaine's longest relationship, yet. I feel so proud." David said with a small grin. Blaine couldn't help but roll his eyes. But he noticed that Kurt turned the same calculating look. What was wrong with Kurt?

-.-.-.-

Blaine watched Kurt whenever they were together. Kurt, for the most part, acted the same as he always did, but there were times where he seemed to get lost in thought. There were times when Blaine saw him looking at him with what he could only identify as suspicion. He also caught Kurt giving similar looks to Wes and David. Blaine had asked him what was going on a few times, but the younger boy continued to tell him that everything was okay.

The biggest tip Blaine got about something being up with Kurt was during Warblers practice this afternoon. He and Kurt were sitting on the couch, going over for the parts of the song they were practicing today while they waited for everyone. Blaine heard the doors opening and felt Kurt tense up beside him. He looked up to see what caused this and saw Tyler looking at them. Tyler raised an eyebrow and gave Kurt a look that Blaine couldn't place before walking off to sit with Kyle and Thad across the room.

"What was that about?" Blaine asked once Kurt turned his attention back to the sheet music.

"What was what about?" Kurt asked.

"That…look that passed between you and Tyler." Blaine answered.

"It's nothing," Kurt said dismissively. "We just got into an argument the other night. We aren't talking to each other."

"Argument? About what?" Was that what had Kurt all upset?

"It's nothing," Kurt turned his attention back to the papers in his hands. Blaine didn't want to drop the subject, but Wes chose that time to start the practice. He made a mental note to talk to Kurt later.

-.-.-.-

After practice was over, Kurt followed Blaine to his dorm room. Wes was going to the drama department to talk to the director about the upcoming play so he and Blaine had time to be alone. Usually, Kurt would have loved to be alone with Blaine for a while—it was hard being alone together when they both had roommates—but it was hard thinking about anything other than what Tyler said to him last night. It had been bothering Kurt all day. He had tried to bring it up with Blaine a few times today, but he couldn't seem to do it.

"Will you please tell me what's wrong?" Blaine asked once they reached his room. "You've been acting off all day."

Kurt saw the concern on Blaine's face and knew that what Tyler said wasn't true; there was just no way. Blaine cared about him.

"I told you I got into an argument with Tyler the other night." Kurt started.

"Yeah, what was that about?"

"When we got back from meeting my family, after you left, he came by and said he needed to talk to me." Kurt bit his lip nervously. There was no nice way to say this.

"What did he want to talk to you about?"

"He…he said you didn't really love me." Kurt answered in a meek voice.

"What?" Kurt looked up and saw shock and anger in Blaine's eyes. Blaine pulled Kurt to sit down beside him on his bed. "Why would he say that?"

"I—I don't know," Kurt answered honestly. "He just came out of nowhere and said that you, Wes, and David have this game set up and that you didn't really love me. It was all part of some three month game? I can't remember everything he said right now."

Kurt saw something flash in Blaine's eyes, but didn't have time to dwell on it too much because the older boy pulled him into a tight embrace.

"Don't believe a thing he said, Kurt." Blaine placed a chaste kiss on his lips. "I _love_ you, Kurt. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

Kurt smiled at the sincerity he saw in Blaine's eyes. "I love you, too."

Blaine smiled and leaned down for another kiss.

"But," Kurt said once they pulled away for air. "Why would he make something like that up?"

-.-.-.-

Blaine hugged Kurt tighter and quickly thought of an answer.

"I don't know, Kurt." He answered after a while. He started to feel horrible for lying to Kurt. "Maybe he wants to break us up?"

"But, why would he do that?"

"He likes you." Blaine answered; at least this wasn't a lie. He had admitted to liking Kurt when they talked last week.

"Wha—how do you know?" Kurt turned surprised eyes to him.

"I've seen the way he looks at you," Blaine wrapped an arm around Kurt's slim waist. "He's obviously attracted to you."

"I should go talk to him," Kurt rested his head on Blaine's shoulder. The older boy panicked slightly.

"Don't do that," he said quickly. "It might just make thing awkward for him. Just let him believe what he wants."

"But—" Kurt lifted his head to look at Blaine.

"Its fine, Kurt." Blaine rested his forehead against Kurt's and loosely wrapped his arms around him. "Just know that I truly, honestly love you."

Kurt beamed up at him and pressed a firm kiss onto his lips, which he gladly returned. He got comfortable on the bed with Kurt in his arms as they exchanged a few more kisses.

Although his lips and tongue moved against Kurt's, Blaine's mind was elsewhere. How did Tyler find out about the bet?

-.-.-.-

_Sooo, this is not only short, and a day late, but probably uber lame. Sorry about that. It started raining recently and it's doing nothing to help me get better. And the pain from my teeth are too damn distracting. Braces are such a pain. Literally. Also, Midterms are fast approaching so I have to get all my unfinished work done if I want them to count. So I'm devoting the rest of this week and the weekend to homework. Then by next week I plan to caught up and can go back to my daily updates. And when I go back to my daily updates, then this story SHOULD be done by the end of next week._

_We had a guest speaker in class today and instead of paying attention, I found myself writing out the first chapter of my next Klaine story XD I know, I'm a horrible student, but honestly, it was the only thing that kept me awake. I'm not going to type it up until I finish this one though, but I do need your __**help**__. I need __**screen names**__ for Kurt and Blaine and can't, for the life of me, think of any. Soooo, suggestions would be great._

_Up next: Blaine confronts Tyler. Kurt finds out something interesting. Whatever else my mind comes up with when I type. _

_I'll try to get it up by the end of the weekend. But, we'll see. _


	24. Chapter 24

_You guys are amazing_. _That's all I have to say._

-.-.-.-

"Guys, we have a problem," Blaine sat in his room with Wes and David. "Kurt knows about the bet."

"How does he know?" Wes asked.

"He said Tyler told him. How did Tyler find out? You guys didn't tell anyone, did you?" Both boys shook their head.

"What did you tell Kurt?" David asked.

"I kind of let him think that Tyler made that bet thing up as a way to break us up," Blaine answered.

"Why did you do that?" Wes asked. "You could have told him about it. If he finds out that it's true, he's going to be mad at you. And he's going to be even madder if you lied about it."

"What does it matter?" Blaine asked. "We called off the bet."

"Where is Kurt anyway?" David asked.

"He went home," Blaine answered. "It was his step-mother's birthday the other day and they waited until the weekend to celebrate so Kurt can be with them."

"You didn't join him?"

"He said they invited me to come, but I didn't want to impose. Their family is still pretty new. Kurt will be back on Sunday afternoon."

"Oh." Wes looked at Blaine. "So, what are you going to do about Tyler?"

"I'm going to talk to him," Blaine shrugged. "Preferably before Kurt gets back from Lima."

"Do you think he'll back down?"

"He backed down when I talked to him about Kurt. I'm sure that if I explain things, he'll understand."

-.-.-.-

"Where are you off to?" Finn looked up from the game he was watching.

"I promised Brittany I'd hang out with her today," Kurt grabbed his keys from the coffee table. "I'll be back before we leave for Carole's birthday dinner, don't worry."

Kurt walked into Breadsticks and was happy to see that Brittany was already there. He hurried over to her table and sat down across from her. "Hey, boo."

"Baby!" Brittany beamed at him. Kurt smiled back; it was hard not to with Brittany. He had soft spot for her. "I've missed you."

"I've missed you, too."

"What's wrong, baby?" Brittany asked in a soft voice. "You look like Mr. Mittens did when I moved my diary to the highest shelf so he couldn't reach it like you said."

"I've just had a lot on my mind," Kurt answered. He waved over a waiter and asked for the menus. "I didn't get much sleep because of it."

"Stuff like what?"

"A friend of mine from the Warblers told me something that's been bothering me all week."

"You're friends with a talking bird?" Brittany looked up from her menu.

Kurt chuckled lightly. "No, boo. The Warblers; the glee club I'm in now?"

"Oh," Brittany looked a little disappointed. "What did he say then?"

"He said that Blaine didn't really love me and it was all some bet he has going with Wes and David for five hundred dollars." Kurt answered.

Brittany blinked and looked at Kurt thoughtfully. She reached over and took his hands in hers. "But that's not true, right?"

"I don't know, Britt. I mentioned it to Blaine, but he said that it wasn't true." Kurt squeezed her hands slightly. "But ever since Tyler mentioned it, I can't help thinking about it. When I told Blaine about it, he got this weird look on his face—almost like he was panicking. I can't help but wonder if he lied to me."

"But you told me that he loves you. I thought you weren't supposed to lie to people you love."

Kurt frowned. "That's why I'm really confused right now, boo. I have no idea what's going on."

"I feel like that a lot of the time," Brittany said after awhile. "Especially when Artie uses big words."

Kurt smiled fondly at the blonde sitting across from him. "It isn't such a great feeling, is it boo?"

"No," Brittany shook her head. The waiter came with their food. "But, I don't understand. Why would your dolphin lie to you? Did you talk to the other people he's playing this game with?"

"No. Sometimes I think they're acting strangely, too. And, even if I did talk to them, they'd take Blaine's side. But, I remembered something from before Blaine and I got together, Wes and David were always around whenever Blaine happened to ask me out. At first, I thought they just wanted to hang out, but I realized that they made it hard for Blaine to ask me to be his boyfriend because there was no way he was going to do that with them around. If they were having this bet, then wouldn't they be making it hard for Blaine to win if they kept getting in the way?"

"What if they just liked hanging out with you because you're fun?" Brittany suggested. She twirled her pasta around her fork. "You're really fun to be around. That's why you're my favorite dolphin."

"You're my favorite, too," Kurt chuckled and poked at his food. He sighed then turned back to Brittany. "Something was weird with Blaine, too. The first time I met him, he took me to the commons where the Warblers were doing an impromptu performance. I didn't think I'd see him after that but then he kept approaching me. Isn't that a little weird? To keep approaching someone you don't really know and trying to make friends with them?"

"I became friends with Santana because I thought she was really hot. Maybe he just thinks you're really hot."

"While I do like the idea of that, I really don't know." Kurt sighed and pushed his food around on his plate. "After I heard all those stories those guys told me about him, I thought I'd just be another one of those guys that he gets bored with. But then he tells me that he loves me and that was one of the happiest moments ever. But then Tyler comes and tells me about this stupid bet thing and I can't help but think that Blaine only told me he loves me to keep the bet going."

"Don't look like that," Brittany pouted. Kurt looked at her curiously.

"You're frowning," Brittany elaborated. "I don't like it when you frown. You're prettier when you smile. So you should totally smile right now or turn your head upside down so even though you're frowning, it still looks like a smile."

Kurt couldn't help but smile after hearing that. He looked down at their empty plate and called over the waiter and asked for their bill. Once they were finished, Kurt took Brittany's hand and led her out of the restaurant.

"How did you get here, boo? Did you drive?"

"No, my dad dropped me off."

"Alright, so how about I go take you to get some frozen yogurt before I drop you back home?"

"Okay!" Brittany beamed and wrapped her arms around his left arm. "But can you take me to Artie's instead? He promised to help me learn the rest of the alphabet."

"Sure," Kurt led the blonde to his car. "And, thank you, Brittany."

"You're welcome," Brittany smiled for a moment before she turned to Kurt and cocked her head to the side. "For what?"

"I've been keeping this bet thing to myself. I only ever told Blaine and I can't exactly tell him everything I told you. And, I couldn't tell anyone else because the last thing I need is for the guys to make a second trip to Dalton."

-.-.-.-

"Tyler," After walking around the school trying to find the other boy, Blaine finally caught up to Tyler walking out of the library.

"Blaine," Tyler responded in a cold voice.

"Can we talk?" Blaine kept a civil smile on his face. Tyler looked skeptical. "I want to talk to you about Kurt."

After what looked like an internal battle, Tyler finally agreed. He led Tyler out to the courtyard. It was a little cold out so most of the boys opted to stay inside.

"Kurt told me that you said to him," Blaine started.

"I thought he had a right to know," Tyler shrugged. He put his hands into his hoodie pocket as a gust of wind blew.

"How did you even find out about the bet?" Blaine asked after a while; he did not want to beat around the bush here.

"After I talked to Kurt for you, I was going to find you to let you know. I heard you talking about it with Wes and David." Tyler shrugged and looked at Blaine with a critical eye. "Did you really bet Wes and David five hundred dollars that you could get Kurt to be your boyfriend for three months?"

Blaine ran a hand through his un-gelled hair and sighed. "Technically, _Wes and David_ were the ones who came up with the bet. They set the dollar amount and the months and everything—"

"What gives you the right to mess with people's emotions, Anderson?" Tyler glared at Blaine.

"Look," Blaine held his hands up defensively. "I know it probably wasn't our best idea and makes us all look like total douches, but we never intended for Kurt to find out about it."

"I can't believe I thought you were being honest when you told me you loved him," Tyler spat out. "I know that you suck in the boyfriend department, but this is just _low_. Treating your boyfriends like crap is one thing, but toying with people's feelings is just wrong. Kurt is a person who _genuinely _likes you. He's not just some game you can play."

Tyler pushed Blaine back and began to storm off. Blaine got over his shock and hurried over to the taller boy.

"Wait!" He grabbed Tyler's arm and forced him to stop."Look, I know I was a bastard. I'm not proud of that and neither are Wes and David. But we called off the bet. We're not going through with it anymore. And I'm _still_ with Kurt. Because I _love_ Kurt. I'm not proud that it took a stupid game like this for me to realize this, but I don't regret Wes and David starting it. If they never started it, then I would probably never have met Kurt and gotten to know him the way I did."

"Why should I believe you?" Tyler narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

Blaine could only shrug. "Whether you believe me or not is up to you. But I _did_ call off the bet and I _do love_ Kurt. You can even ask Wes and David if you want. This isn't a stupid game anymore. This is real."

Tyler nodded sharply but said nothing. He still looked a little skeptical, but Blaine didn't care. He said what he had to say. If Tyler didn't believe him, there really wasn't anything he could do. Blaine made his way back to the building behind Tyler. He saw him reach into his hoodie pocket again and pull out his phone. Tyler looked at something on the screen before returning it to his pocket.

-.-.-.-

"Baby?" Brittany looked at Kurt's face with concern. They had been sitting at the food court in the mall when Kurt's phone went off. Brittany saw Kurt made a face at the caller ID but answered it anyway.

"Hello?" Kurt had answered. It didn't sound like anyone was replying because Kurt had called out again. After the third time, Kurt's pretty eyes had narrowed and he listened intently to something. Brittany continued to eat her frozen yogurt while she watched Kurt. His already pale face had gotten even paler.

After a few minutes of just listening, Kurt pulled the phone away from his ear and pressed end. He didn't say anything as he stared at his phone with an unreadable expression on his face. Brittany was starting to get worried. She's never seen her dolphin look like that before, and she didn't like it. She nudged his forgotten cup of yogurt closer to him. Kurt's eyes moved from his phone to the cup Brittany was pushing towards him. Kurt looked up and gave her a small smile, but Brittany didn't like it. It wasn't how he usually smiled. There was nothing happy about it.

"What's wrong, baby?" Brittany asked in a soft voice.

"I just got an interesting phone call," Kurt said slowly.

"What did they say?"

"That isn't important," Kurt answered. Brittany couldn't help but notice there was something weird about the way he was talking. He wasn't happy, she was sure of that. But, he wasn't exactly angry either. She had heard Kurt angry before; she still remembered that time he exploded at Mr. Shuester at the start of the year. This tone was different. Brittany wasn't sure what it was, but she knew she didn't like it.

"But," Kurt continued, "I heard everything I needed to hear. Are you ready to leave, boo?"

Brittany looked down at her empty cup to Kurt's half-touched one. She nodded slowly. The smile-that-wasn't-a-happy-smile was on his face again. Kurt stood and held his hand out to her.

"Let's go then. I'll drop you off at Artie's."

Brittany wrapped her arms around Kurt's torso as they walked out of the food court. She wasn't sure why, but her dolphin looked like he could use a hug. She felt one of his arm's squeeze her tightly and felt a little better, but not by much.

-.-.-.-

_I love Brittany; she never fails to make me laugh. But, I find Brittany's character hard to write. I can never come up with awesome one-liners like she has on the show. I hope I did alright, though. I love the idea of Kurt/Brittany friendship and I kind of wish they'd add it onto the show more. I wish they'd develop Brittany's character more, too. Along with a Kurt/Dalton centric episode, I'd love to see a Brittany-centric one (I don't think the Brittany/Britney episode counts). Or a Mike-centric one O.O I think that would be awesome. Just a few more days until the next episode! I already heard the glee version of 'Animal'. I almost squealed when I heard Chris Colfer's voice. _

_Anyway, in the past two days, I've completed five papers! I still have one more and I've caught up to all my written assignments. I still have a lot of catching up to do with my readings, though. I started on it earlier but I could only read a page or so before I found myself nodding off. So, I wrote this chapter in between pages. Which kind of explains why it's short. Hope it was alright._

_There's only a few chapters left of this story! I can't give you an actual number, though but it should be done by the end of this week._

_Well, I'm off to drown myself in Monster and finish the 120 pages of Michelangelo's biographical novel I have to read by midnight if I want to submit my analysis in time, which only gives me about five hours. Wish me luck!_


	25. Chapter 25

_Sorry for the slow updates, guys. I've been busy with school lately. Midterms are coming up next week so I've got a lot of stuff to get done._

-.-.-.-

The weekend passed by way too quickly for Kurt's liking. Before he knew it, he was walking through the halls of Dalton, on his way back to his dorm room. He opened the door to his room and saw that his roommate was still out. He entered and set about putting his things away. Once his clothes and bag were out of the way, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He had turned it off before they went to Carole's birthday dinner and didn't bother to turn it back on for the rest of the weekend. He needed time to think without distractions.

A knock on his door interrupted the silence of the room. Kurt stood up from where he had been sitting on his bed and opened the door to see Tyler standing there. The taller boy stuck his hands casually into his pants pocket and gave him a tentative smile. "I noticed your car in the parking lot."

"I just got back," Kurt shrugged. He didn't move from the doorway, so it left Tyler to awkward stand in the hall in front of his room.

"I called you a few times and sent you a couple of texts," Tyler looked at Kurt with an unsure expression on his face.

"My phone died and I forgot to bring my charger."

"Oh," Tyler looked down at his shoes before looking back up at Kurt. "Did you get my call on Saturday, though?"

"I did," Kurt nodded. He realized this was probably not the kind of conversation they should be having in the hall where anyone could pass by and over hear them, so he moved further into the room and gestured for Tyler to enter. "That was one of the last phone calls I had, actually."

Kurt sat down on his bed and crossed his legs. Tyler looked around the room before taking a seat on the desk chair. He bit his lip nervously before turning to Kurt. "And?"

"And, I'm sorry for not believing you when you told me." Kurt noticed a frown on Tyler's face. He must have also noticed the coldness in Kurt's tone.

"Did you hear everything?" Tyler asked tentatively. "I was kind of hoping to talk to you afterwards but the call ended.

"No, not everything," Kurt leaned back on his hands and looked at Tyler. "I stopped listening at the part where he doesn't regret the bet? Or something like that."

"He said he didn't regret it because if it hadn't been for that bet, he might have never gotten to know you," Tyler offered.

"I thought I left all this stupid relationship drama when I left McKinley," Kurt said more to himself.

"But he apparently really cares for you," Tyler added. "He said he loves you."

"How do I know he's being honest this time?" Kurt raised a shape eyebrow at Tyler, who could only shrug in response. "He's apparently quite the actor."

"Maybe—"

"You know what?"Kurt interrupted. "It's not even this stupid bet that pisses me off the most."

"Really?"

"It's the fact that he _lied_ to me," Kurt responded angrily. "I asked him about the bet and he told me that you were making it up or some kind of bull like that. And I _believed_ him. And he _lied_ to me."

"But he called off the bet. Everything is okay now, right?" Tyler asked timidly.

"No, it isn't." Kurt answered coldly. "If he had just told me about this when I asked him the first time—I'd probably be upset, but I wouldn't be as livid as I am now. He lied. And, apparently the first part of our relationship was a lie too because it was all part of some bet. If he could lie to me then, what's stopping him from lying to me again? How do I even know he wasn't lying when he told me he loves me?"

"Don't you think you're overreacting a little?" Tyler asked hesitantly.

"Honestly, I don't know," Kurt shrugged. "I've been told I tend to act irrationally sometimes, especially when I get emotional. I dressed like a trucker for a week and sang Mellencamp once because I thought my dad found himself a new son."

"So what are you going to do?" Tyler asked after a while.

"I don't know," Kurt shrugged again. "I _do_ love Blaine. And I _do_ want to believe that he means it when he says he loves me, but I don't know if I can do that right now."

"Are you going to break up with him?"

"No, or, I don't know," Kurt sighed. "I'm still trying to figure things out right now."

"But you do want to be with him." It was a statement, not a question.

"I do," Kurt looked up at the other boy. "I'm just so confused right now."

"I'll leave you to figure things out then," Tyler stood up and made his way to the door. "Don't let it bother you too much, though."

-.-.-.-

"Why haven't you checked Kurt yet?" Blaine looked up from his book at Wes.

"He's here already?"

"I saw his car in the parking lot," Wes answered. Blaine sat up and frowned.

"He hasn't said anything," He stood up from his bed. "I'll go check on him now then."

Blaine bid goodbye to Wes and made his way to Kurt's dorm. It was really weird. Kurt had stopped replying to his messages and didn't answer his phone calls all weekend. Blaine had just assumed that he was busy spending time with his new family so he didn't think much about him. But, the fact that Kurt had come back and still hadn't text him was starting to worry him. That wasn't like Kurt.

He was just down the hall from Kurt's room when he saw a door open and someone walk out. Blaine's eyes widened when he saw Tyler exiting a room he was pretty sure was Kurt's. Tyler didn't seem to notice Blaine and just kept walking. Blaine waited until he was out of sight before he went up to Kurt's room. He knocked on the door and waited impatiently for it to open. He couldn't' help but smile when he saw Kurt open the door.

"Hey, you," Blaine stepped closer to Kurt and gave him a quick peck on the lips. "I haven't heard from you all weekend."

"I'm sorry," Kurt walked into the room and Blaine followed him. "My phone died and I didn't have my charger on me."

"Its fine," Blaine smiled and sat beside Kurt on the bed. He wrapped his arm around the other boy's slender waist and kissed him lightly on the cheek. "So how was your weekend?"

"It was alright," Kurt shrugged. Blaine frowned; something didn't seem right with Kurt.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Kurt smiled at him, but there was something that seemed wrong with it.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

"Okay," Blaine smiled at him. "I saw Tyler coming out of your room while I was walking over."

"Oh, yeah, he came to talk to me." Kurt casually inspected his fingernails.

"About what?" Blaine hadn't talked to Tyler after their last confrontation. He wasn't too sure if Tyler believed him or not and had no idea what he would tell Kurt.

"He wanted to apologize about the whole bet thing he told me about before," Kurt turned to Blaine with a raised eyebrow. "He said he was sorry for saying you don't love me because you obviously do."

"Of course I do," Blaine grinned at Kurt and the smaller boy smiled back. Blaine's smile lessened in degree. Something wasn't right here. He wasn't sure what was off, though.

"I still don't know where he came up with that stupid bet idea, though." Kurt said nonchalantly.

"He probably just made it up," Blaine looked over Kurt's shoulder so he didn't have to look at the smaller boy when he lied. He made a mental note to thank Tyler for not ratting him out. The guy was nicer than he thought.

"I know," Kurt shrugged and pulled away from Blaine a little. "But he could have easily said something else, you know? He could have said you were cheating on me or something like that. But a bet? Where did _that_ idea come from?"

Blaine felt his heart skip a beat, and not in a good way. Was there a chance that Kurt knew? Kurt was looking at him with an expression that Blaine couldn't read. He looked curious, but there was something else there that Blain couldn't place. He kept his face straight and his voice even when he answered.

"I don't know, maybe he saw it on TV or something?"

"Maybe," Kurt nodded with a wry smile and sent up red flags in Blaine's mind.

-.-.-.-

_Sorry for ending it here, guys. I just didn't want to keep you guys waiting too long. I'm actually about ready to crash right now. I drank so much coffee earlier to stay awake during class and get my projects done. Midterms are next week so I've got a lot to do. I want to keep my GPA up. Lol._

_I wrote a quick one-shot last night! It was my first time at a 5+1 story, but I came across the prompt in the glee fluff meme and wanted to try it out. It's called __**Take As Long As You Need**__if any of you are interested. It's a Kurt/New Directions type thing. And in it I put my love for Kurttany and Purt friendships. XD _

_DUUUDE, this episode of glee…I have a few things I want to say, but I'll save it for tomorrow because I'm falling asleep as I type. And yes, that means I'll be updating again tomorrow, and with a longer chapter. I've been neglecting this story a little—or, neglecting it compared to how I used to update it daily when I first started it. So, I'm going to devote some time to write tomorrow. That, and any more reading for class and I'll probably burn out. _

_Anyway, throw some suggestions my way, will you? I'm not all too sure how I want to approach this Kurt knowing about Blaine thing fully._


	26. Chapter 26

_All I have to say about the Sexy episode is that… My heart goes out to Santana; she needs some love. And, Kurt is so Sue's favorite (probably only second to Becky). _

_Thanks for the reviews guys. Here's the new chapter as promised :D_

-.-.-.-

"So, how goes it with the lying boyfriend?" Tyler asked as he took his seat beside Kurt in their math class.

"Still lying," Kurt glared down at the open textbook in front of him. "I mentioned the bet again after you left yesterday. I wonder if he's ever going to come clean about it."

"Why don't you just tell him that you know about it?" Tyler asked.

"Because," Kurt sighed and turned to face the taller boy. "He lied to me. And, he apparently thinks he can get away with it. I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt and see if his conscience will finally get the better of him and he'll confess everything. If not, then I'll catch him in a lie and sit back and watch as it all blows up in his face."

"And…you still like him?" Tyler gave him an incredulous look.

Kurt shrugged. "I can't honestly tell you that I don't like him. But then again, the first crush I ever had was on a guy who bullied me on a daily basis. Maybe I have a thing for bastards?"

Tyler shook his head in disbelief. "What about Wes and David?"

"What about them?"

"They were in on this bet. It was pretty much their idea, right?"

"What's your point?"

"What if they came clean? Wouldn't that make it easier for you to catch Blaine in a lie or whatever else you're trying to do?"

"Hmm," Kurt thought about that for a while. "I'll talk to them later."

-.-.-.-

"Wes," Kurt smiled at the older boy and sat down across from him.

"Hey, Kurt. Where's Blaine?"

"He had to go to the library and get some books for a paper so I went ahead of him."

"Oh." Wes smiled at Kurt and went back to his food. Kurt sliced his food as he thought of the right way to word his question. He had spent a lot of time with Wes and David since he transferred, but he and Wes weren't exactly close. He would have talked to David about this, but the other boy was with Blaine right now. And this was probably one of his only chances to talk to Wes without Blaine around.

"Wes, can I ask you something?" Wes glanced up from his food

"Sure thing, Kurt. What is it?"

"Is Blaine capable of messing around with someone's feelings?"

Kurt noticed something flash in the older boy's eyes before Wes lowered his gaze to his plate.

"What makes you ask that?"

"Do you remember when my step brother and friends came and started that fight?" Wes nodded.

"Did Blaine tell you why they did that?"

"It was some big misunderstanding, wasn't it?"

Kurt nodded. "Well, I was pretty insecure after that. I still kind of am sometimes."

"Insecure? You know Blaine loves you."

Kurt smiled softly. "I know, but sometimes I just can't help it, you know? Blaine is just so amazing and I'm...not. Sometimes I can't help but think he's only with me as part of some twisted bet or something."

Wes ducked his head back down, but not before Kurt saw him wince slightly. Kurt took a second to smirk but replaced it with a small unsure smile when Wes picked his head up again.

"Kurt," Wes paused. He looked like he was searching for the right things to say. "I'm not sure what those other people told you, but I can tell you that Blaine really wasn't such a great boyfriend before. He'd hook up with guys for a few weeks then get bored and move on. He was set on his belief that love doesn't exist so he made sure not to get emotionally attached to any of those guys he dated."

"Why would he think that?" Kurt asked curiously.

"He says he's seen enough relationships start and end so many times, which in some cases I guess are true. Or, at least here at Dalton. It's an all boys' school so we don't exactly see too many relationships going on, but we've seen enough 'heartbroken' Warblers and classmates since we've been at Dalton.

"But I think what really got to him was his cousin." Kurt raised an eyebrow, but didn't voice his question. Wes seemed to already know what he was thinking. "Blaine has a cousin, Ezra that he's really close to. He was a few years older and was pretty much Blaine's older brother growing up. Anyway, a couple years ago, Ezra fell in love with this girl. He was crazy about her and planned on marrying her. I only met him a few times that summer but when I did see him, all he could talk about was how amazing his girlfriend was.

"Then one day, towards the end of the summer, he found out she was cheating on him with his best friend's older brother. And his friend knew about it and never told him. That messed him up pretty bad. His parents found him with his forearms cut up and bleeding. He's okay now, which is good.

"But that incident kind of affected Blaine almost as much as it did Ezra. Did you ever notice that Blaine seems to get along with lots of guys but he only really hangs out with me and David? He doesn't really trust people so he doesn't let them get too close. He saw how hurt Ezra had been and swore to himself he'd never let anything like that happen."

"I never knew that," Kurt said softly.

"Blaine doesn't like to talk about it," Wes gave Kurt a tight-lipped smile. "But, I'm telling you because it might help you understand how Blaine works. So, basically, what I'm trying to say is that Blaine was never such a great boyfriend before, but he's different now. You've really changed him, Kurt. He would never…Just, he loves you and don't doubt that he does."

"Thanks, Wes," Kurt turned back to his food. He noticed that Wes didn't exactly address the thing about the bet. He had a feeling that he was going to say that Blaine would never do something like that, but stopped because Blaine _could_ do something like that. Kurt smiled softly at his plate. Well, at least Wes was honest, sort of. He may have omitted some information, but he didn't outright say that Blaine would never go out with him for a bet.

-.-.-.-

_Hey guys. Here's the chapter I promised you. It's a little late. It would have been out a few hours ago, and probably a lot longer, but I spent the last five hours away from home. As you all probably know by now, an earthquake hit and devastation hit Japan. My place was given a tsunami warning and it wasn't lifted until a couple hours ago. So, right now, I'm just tired. Who knew waiting around for a few hours could take a lot out of a person. Anyway, I'm glad we're okay._

_I actually wrote a short one-shot while I was in the car with my family waiting for news about the tsunami. It's called __**So You Have Feathers AND Fins?**__It was my attempt at humor to lighten the mood. It's a Blaine meeting Brittany for the first time type of thing. It's another prompt fill. But yeah, check it out if you're interest._

_So, I wrote the second half of this after I wrote that one-shot. I wrote it on my phone and just emailed it to myself. I ran a quick check through it, but just in case I missed something, please excuse that. Also, in case you're wondering(Though I don't see why you would) the Ezra thing was something I've dealt with about a year ago. The whole significant other cheating on you with best friend's sibling thing. There was no attempted suicide, thankfully. But, seeing someone you care about break apart makes you never want to experience that kind of betrayal._

_For those of you who are religiously inclined remember to add Japan and all those who are affected by this tragedy in your prayers. I'm not too sure, but there are probably still a few places on alert. So, keep them in your prayers, too. _


	27. Chapter 27

_Oh…my…gah. This episode… I knew it was coming, but when I saw it… my jaw dropped and stayed down for a while and then I started grinning like an idiot and spazzing to my sister. Haha. I'm sure you guys know which scene I'm talking about. And I couldn't help but love Wes even more during the vote. Also, I'm really not liking Quinn right now; am I the only one who feels that way?_

_Anyway, on to the story._

-.-.-.-

Blaine smiled when he saw Kurt standing in front of his dorm room, obviously waiting for him. He walked up to the boy and kissed him lightly on the cheek. "Good morning,"

"Good morning," Kurt smiled and leaned into Blaine. Blaine smiled and wrapped his arms around the slim boy.

"Are you alright?" Blaine asked after he pulled away.

"I talked to Wes yesterday," Kurt answered. Blaine took his hand and they began walking down the hall to the dining room.

"Oh?"

"He told me about your cousin Ezra," Kurt said softly.

"He did what?" Blaine's eyes rose in disbelief. Why would Wes tell Kurt that?

"Don't be mad at him," Kurt squeezed Blaine's hand gently. "I was kind of…glad he told me. It helped me understand something."

"Understand what?"

"Do you remember that huge misunderstanding before Valentine's Day?" Blaine nodded. How could he have forgotten that?

"It was bugging me a little," Kurt admitted softly. "They all said you were such a horrible boyfriend and that you never really cared about anyone and it was bugging me. So I talked to Wes and he mentioned your cousin. Now I kind of understand why you acted like that before."

"What did he tell you exactly?" Blaine made a mental note to talk to Wes later.

"He said that your cousin's experiences kind of made you hesitant when it came to getting attached to people you're in relationships with."

"It's different with you," Blaine began to explain.

"I know," Kurt interrupted him with a small smile. "Wes told me that you really do love me and I have nothing to worry about."

"You don't," Blaine repeated with a smile. He let go of Kurt's hand to wrap it around his shoulders. He placed a chaste kiss on Kurt's cheek. "I love you."

"I love you, too." Kurt responded. Blaine smiled as he watched Kurt as they made their way to the dining hall. Something was still off about Kurt. He wasn't sure what it was, but there was something going on. Maybe Wes knew the answer.

-.-.-.-

"You told Kurt about Ezra?" The words came out as soon as he closed the door of the room he shared with Wes.

"I know I shouldn't have," Wes looked at Blaine apologetically. "But, I thought it would help him understand things better. He said what those guys told him about you kind of messed with his thinking."

"I guess," Blaine took his blazer off and went to sit on his bed. "But wouldn't it just give him even more reason to think I'm not serious about this? Now he knows that it wasn't just those guys. I don't trust most people when it comes to relationships."

"He seemed really understanding after I told him though. Like he understood how what happened made you distrust relationships. But, I told him that you really did love him."

"Thanks for that, Wes."

"Blaine," Wes spoke up after a while. "He mentioned the bet to me and if you were capable of doing something like that."

"What did you say?" Blaine turned to look at his friend. He trusted Wes; the other boy wouldn't have told Kurt.

"I told him that you love him and he has nothing to worry about," Wes shrugged. "But there was just something about the way he looked when he asked it. Are you sure Tyler didn't tell him? Didn't you say that Tyler was in Kurt's room when he got back last week?"

"I know. But when I asked Kurt, he said that Tyler was just apologizing for making up the story about the bet."

"But, why would he do that? I thought you said he didn't like you? And that he liked Kurt? Wouldn't he be trying to ruin your relationship with him and not helping you out?"

Blaine paused before answering. He had never considered that before. Tyler really had no reason to help him; he may have apologized to the boy, but he could still be upset. "I…really don't know."

"Do you want me or David to talk to Tyler for you?"

"No," Blaine shook his head. "Tyler doesn't spend as much time with Kurt as he used to. He'll probably stay away now. Let's just leave it be for now."

"If you say so." Wes frowned slightly. "You should probably come clean to Kurt though. If he finds out later, he's going to be real upset."

"If Tyler's backing off, and you and David don't speak about it, then there's really no way for Kurt to find out. And, I'll probably tell him about it sooner or later."

"Hopefully, it's sooner rather than later," Wes said before turning his attention back to his laptop. 

-.-.-.-

"Hummel," Kurt was just walking out of the library when he heard someone calling his name. He stopped and turned around and saw Santana stalking up to him with an angry look on her face. A few boys passing by stopped to look at her.

"Don't you check your phone?" Santana said menacingly. "I've been looking for you for almost an hour!"

Kurt reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He had a few text messages and quite a number of missed calls. "Sorry. I was in the library so I had my phone on silent. What are you doing here? How did you even get in here?"

"That's another thing," Santana's voice rose slightly and Kurt knew she was about to start a rant. "Do you have any idea how hard it was to get into this place? What's so special about this school anyway? I can't walk around here without having this stupid pass visible."

It was only then that Kurt noticed the blue ID clipped to the front of her jacket. Santana didn't seem to notice and continued to rant.

"I had to fork over my license and they're holding it until I leave. What the hell is this place?"

"Well," Kurt said calmly. He noticed that Santana's outburst had gotten them some attention, so he began to lead the girl down the hall and away from the curious boys. "With the amount of money the students pay to be in this school, decent security only makes sense. Now, _what_ are you doing here?"

"Brittany wanted me to talk to you," Santana said in a much gentler voice. "She's worried about you because you're smiling but not smiling."

"What?"

"She said you guys went to Breadsticks over the weekend—why wasn't I invited?—and that afterwards you got a phone call and after that all your smiles turned into not-smiles or something like that. I wasn't sure which really happened and which was just Brittany being well, Brittany."

"Oh," Kurt frowned slightly. He didn't think Brittany noticed. "It's nothing."

"Like hell it is," The fierceness was back in Santana's voice. But, luckily, Kurt had led them outside so she wouldn't attract _too_ much attention. "I didn't spend over an hour driving here just to get a 'nothing' from you. So, either you tell me or I get it out of you."

"I just had a pretty bad phone call, alright?"

"Like what?"

"It's not important." Kurt insisted. Santana crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes.

"I'm not leaving you until you tell me what's going on." Santana took a threatening step towards him. Kurt swallowed nervously but stood his ground.

"Then you're going to be here for a while."

Santana glared at him for a little while longer before she backed down. "Look, if I share, will you share?"

"Share what exactly?" Kurt raised an eyebrow at the girl. Santana's attitude went from pushy and annoying to unsure and timid in a matter of seconds.

"Brittany wanted to talk about feelings or whatever today." Santana said slowly.

"You guys talk?" Kurt asked skeptically. "I figured the two of you just made out or had sex or whatever the hell it was the two of you did."

"Just…let me talk, alright?" Santana looked so different right now. Kurt has never seen her look so unsure of herself. He kept his mouth shut and waited for Santana to talk.

"How did you…know you were gay?"

"Are you saying…" Kurt looked at the former cheerleader with wide eyes.

"No," Santana shook her head. "I mean, I'm attracted to guys, too. We talked to Miss Holiday about it and I sang a song with Brittany and all of this just had me thinking a lot."

"And?" Santana paused. She looked like she was having an inner battle with herself and was trying to find the right things to say. Kurt wanted desperately to shake the girl and get answers out of her, but he realized that this was hard for her to come to terms with so he waited patiently.

"We had that party at Berry's a couple weeks ago, the one you couldn't make it to…"

"I heard about that. You all got really drunk then you threw up at a school rally, really?" Kurt couldn't keep the amusement out of his voice. The smile disappeared from his face when Santana glared at him.

"They were playing spin the bottle and Brittany and Sam had to kiss each other."

"You and Brittany share guys sometimes, don't you?" Kurt didn't think Santana would have minded that Brittany kissed Sam. After all, it was just a game and they were all drunk, if the stories he heard from Finn were anything to go by.

"I realized that it wasn't Brittany kissing Sam that made me mad," Santana said in a quiet voice. "It was Sam kissing Brittany that bothered me."

Kurt immediately understood what she meant. Santana looked up at him with timid eyes. Kurt knew she was just waiting for him to pass judgment on her.

"I didn't see that coming," Kurt said slowly. "But I'm not too surprised. You and Brittany were always really close."

"I don't know how to deal with this, Hummel." Santana said in a shaky voice.

"Are you going to tell Brittany?"

"I…can't. I don't want to scare her away."

"Brittany is one of the sweetest people I know," Kurt put a comforting hand on Santana's shoulder. He gave her a small smile. "And I know she cares about you, too."

"I just can't, Kurt." Santana's voice had a hint of desperation in it. "You _left_ school because of all that crap they did to you. I can't handle that."

"I know coming out is hard," Kurt knew exactly how hard it was. "And if you aren't ready to do that, then I won't fault you. But, at least tell Brittany. She'll understand."

"Maybe," Santana turned her head away and Kurt thought he saw a glint of tears in her eyes. "Anyway, that's enough from me. It's your turn to share, Porcelain. So, spill."

Kurt really didn't want to tell her, but she had opened up to him. He felt compelled to open up to her as well. "Blaine was only going out with me because of some bet he had with Wes and David."

"What?" Santana looked shocked at first, before it was replaced by anger. "What the hell! Where is that good for nothing hobbit?"

"Hold on!" Kurt reached out and grabbed Santana's arm. He felt a little touched that she had reacted that way, but she didn't want him to hurt Blaine. "He called off the bet. He apparently realized that his were real."

"Oh," Santana visibly calmed down. "Then what's with the smile not being a smile Britt was going on about?"

"Blaine didn't exactly tell me about the bet," Kurt explained. "My friend Tyler overheard him and his friends talking about it and he told me. I didn't believe him at first. Then, Blaine came to talk to him to explain the whole bet thing. Tyler called and I guess Blaine didn't know; Tyler's phone was probably in his jacket pocket or something, but I heard Blaine telling him everything."

"So what are you doing with all of this?"

"I wanted to try and catch him in the lie, but I have no idea how to do it. And, to be honest," Kurt said softly. "I kind of want him to tell me himself. It makes me absolutely furious that he lied to me and originally intended to just play with my feelings, but I really do care for him. And, he returns those feelings. I know what he did was a big douche move, but whenever we go out or just hang out together, he's so sweet that I can't help but love him a little more."

"That's stupid," Santana said bluntly. "If you want to love him, by all means, go ahead. But, you can't let him get away with this."

"So what do you suggest I do?"

"Mess with him, of course." Santana smirked.

-.-.-.-

_K, weird question, but does anyone know the name of the beat boxer from the Warblers? Haha. I've always wanted to know his name but could never find it._

_Anyway, I know I haven't been updating as regularly now and the chapters are moving slowly. I apologize. And I really hope this chapter was alright. Midterms have started. I had my first one today and it kept me up until 4 am trying to make sense of everything. My last midterm is next week, so after that, I'll go back to updating regularly. Also, ideas on what Kurt should do to Blaine? I'm a little short with ideas. I_


	28. Chapter 28

_Sorry this took forever. School got the best of me. First there were midterms and now they've assigned the projects we have to get done before finals and both of my groups are pretty horrible at planning stuff out because whenever we get together, we just end up talking and having fun instead of doing work. I've also been dealing a lot with dorm applications and other paperwork. So yeah; that's my excuse, lame as it may be._

-.-.-.-

"Hey, I've been looking for you," Blaine approached Kurt and took his boyfriend's hand.

"Sorry," Kurt smiled sweetly and kissed him on the cheek. "But Santana showed up on campus and wanted to talk. So I took her outside so she wouldn't make a scene."

"What did she want?" Blaine asked curiously. As far as he remembered, Santana and Kurt were never very close.

"She's going through a bit of a crisis," Kurt explained. "She's questioning her feels for Brittany and who better to talk to than me?"

"Oh, I see," Blaine pulled his boyfriend down the hall and towards the Warblers' practice room. "Is she alright?"

"She's really confused about it right now," Kurt shrugged. "She still has to really think things through."

"I see." Blaine lifted Kurt's hand to his lips and kissed his knuckles lightly. "Oh, are we still on for our date Friday night?"

"Of course, but, instead of going to the movies afterwards, how about we rent a few DVDs and watch them in my room? Trent's going to go home for the weekend."

"That sounds great. Is there anything in particular you want to watch?"

"Not that I can think of right now," Kurt hummed softly. "I was thinking we can get a bunch of old romantic comedy's though."

"Sounds like a plan," Blaine smiled up at his boyfriend and gave him a quick peck on the lips before they walked into the practice room.

-.-.-.-

"What movies did you get?" Blaine asked as he made himself comfortable on Kurt's bed. He watched as his boyfriend set up his laptop.

"_Fifty First Date_ and _She's All That_," Kurt answered. "Which do you want to watch first?"

"How about _She's All That_?" Blaine suggested. "I don't think I've heard of that one."

"It's a pretty old movie," Kurt opened one of the DVD cases that had been on his desk. "It's not too bad though. Santana mentioned it when she was over here and I decided I wanted to watch it again."

"What's it about?" Blaine shifted on the bed a little when Kurt came to sit next to him. He wrapped an arm around his boyfriend's slender waist and leaned back on the headboard of the bed.

"I watched it a really long time ago so I don't really remember all of the details," Kurt answered as the movie started up. "All I remember was that this guy makes a bet with all his friends about this girl."

"A bet?" Blaine's eyes widened and his breath caught in his throat. Kurt didn't seem to notice because his eyes were on the computer screen.

"Yeah," Kurt kept his eyes on the screen as he answered. "He bet them that he could turn this horribly geeky girl into the prom queen or something along those lines. And then sometime later, he ends up falling in love with her."

"Really?" It took Blaine a moment to find his voice. The movie had sounded so much like his situation with Kurt that he was starting to wonder if Kurt actually knew the truth.

"Yup," Luckily for Blaine, Kurt didn't seem to realize that anything was up. "It's horribly cliché. But, I can be a bit of a sucker for things like that."

Blaine chuckled slightly but he thought it sounded half-hearted to him. He tightened his grip on Kurt's waist and tried to push away his panicked thoughts and focus on the movie.

"You know," Kurt spoke up about halfway through the movie. "That guy is a complete idiot."

Blaine couldn't help but wince at that. Luckily, he had Kurt leaning against his chest so the younger boy couldn't see his face. Blaine tried to keep his voice neutral as he answered. "Because of the bet?"

"I'm all for placing bets and all," Kurt shifted a little. "But when people's feelings are involved, that's just stupid and wrong; you don't mess around with other people like they're nothing but play things. That's just low."

"He ends up liking her in the end though. The way he realized his feelings may have been wrong, but his feelings are genuine. And, think of it like this: a bet is what pushed the two people together. If there had been no bet, then the guy would have never had a reason to approach the girl. They could be absolutely perfect for each other, but would have never found out if it weren't for that bet."

"I can understand that," Kurt turned his head slightly and planted a soft kiss on the corner of Blaine's mouth. "But the minute the guy realizes he's in love, he should have come clean about the bet."

"Maybe the guy just doesn't want to hurt her? If she ever found out about the bet, it would have definitely have hurt her and probably would have pushed her away." Blaine knew they were no longer talking about the movie and people placing bets about other people in general. He was worried about this conversation and where it would go.

"I guess," Kurt said thoughtfully. "But I still think they should just confess about the bet."

"Well, if the other person never finds out about the bet, then no one gets hurt, right?"

"Mmm, I guess I see your point," Blaine caught himself before he could let out a sigh of relief. "But, I still don't like it."

"Why not?" Blaine asked carefully.

Kurt turned around to face him. "I just don't like it. I'm okay with the 'realizing your feelings because of the bet' thing, but I don't like the person never coming clean about it, even if it's so no one gets hurt. I mean, doesn't the guy have a conscience? Isn't it bothering him at the very least knowing that he had originally stared out messing around with another person's feelings?"

Even though Kurt hadn't been talking about him, Blaine felt a pang of guilt go through his chest. It wasn't that he didn't feel guilty, it's just that he was afraid of what would happen if Kurt found out. "So you _want_ the other person to get hurt?"

"No of course not," Kurt moved so that he was no longer leaning on Blaine. "But I think it would hurt even more if they ever found out about the bet—even if the guy doesn't tell her, she may still find out. And when she does, it's going to hurt. And the longer it took for her to find out, the more it'll hurt."

Blaine was taken aback by the sudden change in Kurt's tone. He sounded almost a little angry. Blaine reached out and pulled his boyfriend into a hug. "I see your point. But, let's not get into an argument over a movie."

Blaine saw something flash in Kurt's eyes; he didn't have time to determine what it was because it was gone in a second. But, he pushed the thoughts aside when Kurt leaned up to place a kiss on his lips. Blaine smiled into the kiss and deepened it just a little. He gave a small grin when they finally pulled away. Kurt looked adorable with his kiss-bruised lips and the light flush coloring his cheeks.

"Well," Kurt made himself comfortable against Blaine. "If I was ever in a situation with a bet, and I was lucky enough to have the person realize that he fell in love with me, I'd rather he come clean to me instead of keep it from me so I won't get hurt. Sure, I'll be upset that I was originally nothing more than a game to him, but I can get over that. Lying will be harder to get over because a relationship needs trust. And if he lied once, he can easily lie again."

Blaine opened his mouth to say something, anything, but words eluded him. Instead, he buried his head in the crook between Kurt's shoulder and neck, and kissed the small bit of skin that was there. He tightened his grip on his boyfriend and tried to calm himself.

"Oh, look!" Kurt's voice was lighter now—happier sounding. "The movie is over. We talked through the entire ending. Do you want to go back and watch it again?"

"No," Blaine answered softly. "I think I can figure out how it ends. Let's just watch the next movie."

Kurt sat up and Blaine stood to go to the laptop to switch the DVDs. He placed in _Fifty First Dates_ and pressed play when the movie menu came up. He got back to the bed and Kurt cuddled up against him. Blaine wrapped an arm around him and tried to get comfortable. He turned his attention to the screen and hoped the movie would be enough to push away all the feelings of guilt that were currently gnawing at him.

-.-.-.-

_I know this chapter took forever (__**When**__ did I last update anyway?), but as I said at the top of this page, school/life got the best of me. But now that midterms are finally over, I've got more time now to do stuff. And, it's spring break in two weeks :D Whoo! I'm spending the first few days going away with a few friends of mine. _

_But anyway, you probably don't care about that. There are two—maybe three, depending on how things go when I write it out—more chapters to this story left. I'm going to work on making them a pretty decent length to make up for this chapter and the delay. And, I've got a new story in the works. The idea came to me in class yesterday and it just wouldn't leave. I'm posting it up after I complete this story. But, it's an AU story in which Kurt attended Dalton first, dated Blaine, then they broke up and he went to McKinley (not because of the break up, for other reasons), and it pretty much deals with how the two boys are coping without the other and whether or not they can get back together. That's it in a nutshell. What do you guys think? I'm still working out a title for it and I've got so many random scenes planned out it's not even funny. Lol. _

_Also, I'm going to shamelessly advertise a one shot I wrote a while back called _Took Him Long Enough_, which was something that came to me while I was cramming for tests. I don't even know. But it's the development of Klaine told through the perspective of Wes, because he's one of my favorites. _

_How much longer until this glee hiatus is over? Ugh. It doesn't come back until the 19__th__. But, I hear Born This Way is going to be like 90mins long. Wow. Anyway, enough of my rambling._

_Again, I'm __**so**__ sorry this took so long. I hope this wasn't _too_ bad of a chapter. And, any suggestions you have on what you want to see next is welcome. Because I'm horrible at fights and you can't say you didn't expect a falling out of some type between the boys._

_Oh! One last thing: I changed my penname in case any of you noticed. I kept the first half, and just changed the last. Don't know why I did it. I just…did. Lol. K, that's it. Anyway, hope to hear what you think about this/what you want to see. And, Happy April Fool's!_


	29. Chapter 29

_My biggest problem had always been ending stories. It always takes me a while. Lol. _

_Anyway, thanks for all the reviews and support you guys have given this story guys. I've broken the six hundred mark. You have no idea how much that meant to me. You guys are amazing._

-.-.-.-

"What's with the face?" Wes asked as soon as Blaine stepped into their room. "Date didn't go well?"

"It went fine," Blaine answered. "But, I think I'm in trouble."

"Why is that?"

"We watched _She's All that_," Blaine took of his jacket and draped it over his desk chair. He moved to sit down on his bed and faced Wes.

"I've never heard of it."

"I didn't either. But it was about this guy who made a bet with his friends about this one girl. And in the end he ends up falling in love with her."

"Wow," Wes sat up and looked at the other boy. "Maybe it's just a freaky coincidence?"

"That's what I thought at first," Blaine admitted. "But then we got into a discussion about the bet thing."

"What did you say?"

"I pretty much gave him my explanation without really telling him anything. I told him that the guy who started the bet may have entered with bad intentions, but his feelings were real."

"And what did Kurt say?"

"He pretty much said that he could understand that. It may not have been the best circumstances, but the feelings are real and that's what matters in the end."

"You know, that would have been the perfect opportunity to tell him about our bet." Wes commented.

"I know," Blaine sighed. "I almost did at one point. But I couldn't bring myself to do it."

"Why not?" Wes asked. "He pretty much told you he was okay with it because you truly do love him."

"I honestly don't know why I didn't. I wanted to, but I was scared."

"Did he say anything else?" Wes asked after a while.

"He said that he would rather the person come clean to him instead of keeping it from him because it would hurt even more if he realized that the other person lied about it. He could forgive the bet, but not the lying."

"That…complicates things." Blaine could only sigh and nod in response.

"So what are you going to do?" Wes asked after a while.

"I'm going to tell him. I have to."

-.-.-.-

"I can't believe he didn't confess!" Kurt ranted as he paced the floor of Tyler's dorm room.

"Why don't you do what that Santana girl mentioned and mess with him?" Tyler looked up from the magazine he was flipping through. "Get back at him for obviously messing with your head."

"I don't quite have an evil a mind as Santana Lopez," Kurt rolled his eyes and continued his pacing. "The closest I came to actually messing with Blaine was trying to get him to confess this stupid bet to me. But he wouldn't. Ugh!"

"Okay then," Tyler put down the magazine and looked at Kurt. "Why don't you talk to Wes or David? Aren't they in on this bet, too?"

"They're Blaine's friends more than they are mine," Kurt stopped pacing so he could look at Tyler as he answered. "I did try talking to them. They both said the same thing: that he really cares for me."

"Okay, so why don't you call him out on it? Instead of just waiting around for me to talk to come to you?"

"Because I want him to be the one who tells me," Kurt answered quietly. "At least that way, I know that he at least felt guilty for placing a bet on whether or not he could win me over."

"Look, I get where you're coming from, but what if he never fesses up? Are you just going to continue like this?"

"No, of course not!"

"Then how long are you going to drag it out?" Tyler stood up so he wasn't looking up at Kurt. "You've known about this bet for over two weeks now. Blaine realized his feelings for you over a month ago. He's had that long to figure out how to tell you and he has yet to do anything."

Kurt sat down and let out a huge sigh of frustration. "You're right," He said after a while. "I can't keep going on like this. I love Blaine, I really do, but sometimes I feel like this relationship is a lie."

"No offense or anything, but it's pretty much a lie now," Tyler rolled his eyes and Kurt knew that he didn't mean too much by it. "Let's face it, Blaine's keeping the bet he made a secret from you and you're keeping the fact that you know about it a secret. I don't have too much relationship experience, but I'm pretty sure that's not how they work."

"I'll talk to him tomorrow," Kurt decided.

-.-.-.-

Blaine tried to fight down his nerves as he made his way over to Kurt's room. He had been up for a good part of the night trying to figure out the best way to say what he had to say. It took Wes shouting at him to shut up and go to sleep at about three in the morning to make him stop. He reached the door a lot sooner than he expected.

Kurt opened almost a second after Blaine knocked. It was like he was waiting behind the door for Blaine. Blaine smiled and walked in. He waited until Kurt closed the door behind him before he spoke.

"We need to talk," He was surprised to hear Kurt utter those words at the same time he did. Kurt seemed to be thinking along the same lines.

"You go first," Blaine watched as Kurt took a seat next to him on the bed.

"No, you go," Kurt insisted. Blaine saw a hopeful look in his eyes and wondered what that meant.

"No," Blaine shook his head and gave Kurt what he hoped was a sincere looking smile."You go ahead and go first. I insist."

"Blaine," Kurt bit down on his bottom lip and Blaine had to fight down his nerves again. Kurt only ever did that when he was nervous. What could he be nervous about? "I really don't know how to start this, so I'm just going to go ahead and say whatever comes to mind, alright?"

Blaine nodded.

"I want you to not say anything until I finish, okay? I have quite a bit to say and I'm afraid that if you speak up, I won't get to say everything I need to."

"Of course, Kurt," Blaine looked at Kurt in confusion though he felt a feeling of dread start to build up inside him. What could Kurt have to talk to him about?

"I had quite a crush on you from the very start. And you have no idea how happy I was when you finally asked me out. I felt like I was the luckiest guy in the world because you were just so amazing and I never, for the life of me, thought I could ever be with someone like you."

Blaine felt himself smile at Kurt's words. The conversation was starting off well enough, but Blaine still felt the dread within his chest.

"I…I know about the bet, Blaine," Kurt's voice hardened.

"Let me continue." Kurt said firmly. Blaine bit the inside of his cheek in apprehension. There was an unreadable expression on Kurt's face and he didn't know what to make of it.

"I heard about the bet from Tyler," Kurt continued. "And I didn't believe him because I thought you were better than that. So when I asked you and you denied it, obviously I believed you over Tyler because I trusted you more than I did him.

"But when I went home to Lima, I got a phone call from Tyler. At first, I was confused because he wasn't saying anything, but then I heard you speaking. It took me a few minutes to realize that he called me while you two were talking."

Blaine thought he felt his heart stop. He tried to remember how long ago he had that conversation with Tyler and realized that it was a couple of weeks ago. Kurt had known for that long? And he hadn't said anything about it?

"I heard the truth, Blaine." Kurt looked directly into Blaine's eyes as he said this. "And before you say anything, yes, I heard you tell him that your feelings for me are genuine."

Blaine closed his mouth. He shifted nervously in his seat. When he tried to figure out what he was going to say last night, he hadn't considered that Kurt already knew. Now, he pretty much had to throw out everything he had planned to say and come up with something else.

"Do you remember our talk last night, Blaine? While we were watching that movie?" Kurt looked at him expectantly and Blaine realized that he could speak up now.

"I do," Blaine answered. "And please believe me, Kurt. I only hid it from you because I didn't want to hurt you."

"I know, I heard you last night." A cold expression had fallen over Kurt's face. "But do you remember what I said last night? I rather you told me instead of keep it from me."

"I didn't know how to handle it," Blaine heard the pleading tone in his voice. "I wanted to tell you, but I was afraid of how you would take it. You were the first person I fell in love with and even though it made me so happy, but at the same time, it scared me. It scared me because the idea of losing you was more than I could handle.

"When Wes, David, and I first started this bet, it was nothing but fun. I know it made us complete douches—I won't deny that—but we didn't think anything of it and how it would affect you at the time. It wasn't until I had already asked you to go out with me that we got really close to you. And by that point, we realized how horrible an idea it was to mess with you. But, we didn't want to call of the bet because I had just asked you out and we thought it would be a bad idea to break it off with you so soon after I asked you out.

"Then we agreed to just continue with it—again, not one of our finer ideas—but it wasn't like before. I wasn't staying in the relationship to win this game, I was staying in it because I saw how happy you were and I didn't want to hurt you because I loved you. At that time, of course, I hadn't realized it was love; I thought I just cared for you as a friend. But when I realized my feelings for you, the first thing I did—even before I went to tell you—was to call off the bet with Wes and David. That was the conversation that Tyler overheard. And I'm guessing that he didn't hear everything before he went to tell you.

"But what I'm basically trying to say," Blaine realized that he was rambling and was probably losing Kurt. "Kurt, I love you. I truly do. And I wanted nothing more than to tell you about this bet but I had no idea how. I was just so afraid of losing you that I wanted to make sure I did nothing to hurt you. And I just knew you weren't going to take this bet thing lightly."

"I didn't at first," Kurt's voice was so soft that Blaine had to strain his ears to hear it. "When I heard about it the first time from Tyler, and then from you over the phone, I had been so hurt and betrayed. But, I gave it a lot of thought and decided that I could forgive you for it."

"So you forgive me?" Blaine couldn't help but sound hopeful.

"No," Kurt responded bluntly. Blaine felt like the breath got knocked out of him.

"I can forgive you for the stupid bet," Kurt explained. "But I can't forgive you from lying to me."

Blaine thought his heart stopped. Was this it? Had he lost Kurt?

"Kurt," Blaine felt tears starting to well up in his eyes. "Kurt, I just didn't want to risk losing you."

"I know," Kurt's voice still sounded cold and it hurt Blaine to it directed at him. "And had you told me sooner, I wouldn't be so upset. Do you know why I started up that conversation last night? Because I was hoping that if you saw that I was okay with it, you would tell me."

"I wanted to," Blaine blinked rapidly to stop the tears that were threatening to fall. "Especially after last night. But, I didn't know how to tell you about it."

"Blaine, last night was the _perfect_ opportunity for you to tell me! I pretty much told you it was okay as long as you confessed but you still didn't say anything!"

"I didn't know _what_ to say." Blaine looked at Kurt with pleading eyes but still could not read the expression on Kurt's face. It was starting to really worry him.

"I _told_ you that I rather you told me instead of lied to me. I know that sometimes the truth can be pretty ugly, but at least it's the god damn truth. If you had told me earlier—sure, it would have hurt, but I could have gotten over it; at least I knew I could trust you to be honest with me no matter what. But, now, I don't know if I can believe you. You lied to me once, who's to say you won't lie to me again?"

"I didn't mean to lie to you," Even Blaine could hear how pathetic he sounded at that moment.

"I don't doubt that," Kurt sighed. It was the first time since Kurt told him that he knew about the bet that his voice revealed something other than cold indifference. Blaine waited for Kurt to say something more but nothing more came out of him.

"Does this mean that we're…?" Blaine stopped and looked at Kurt. He really didn't want to ask the question, but he had to know.

"Breaking up?" Kurt asked. Blaine nodded.

"No." Blaine felt a wave of relief go through him.

"But," The relief was gone in an instant.

"But," Kurt repeated. "I need some time. I'm not breaking up with you. But, I want some time to think about things."

"I…" Blaine didn't like the sound of this agreement, but he was thankful that Kurt was at least not breaking up with him. "I understand."

Blaine stood up from the bed and made his way over to the door. Kurt didn't stop him so he figured that it was his time to leave.

"Take as long as you need, Kurt." Blaine was halfway out the door when he turned back to look at Kurt. The boy was looking down at the floor. "I love you."

-.-.-.-

_I was a bit stuck with this part but was inspired by a lecture in class today. We were talking about truth and whether or not all truth was beautiful, or if somewhere just plain ugly. Or, something along those lines; I zoned out for a good part of class time. Lol._

_The chapter after this will be the __**last**__ one. Hah. This story is finally coming to a close. _

_If any of you are interested, I've got a new story out called __**Finding My Way Back to You**__. It's going to be the story that I'm going to focus on after this ends. I've got a couple chapters out so check it out if you're interested. _

_Spring break starts next week. Whoo! I'm going away with a few friends. It's actually to check out the university and stuff but mostly, we're just gonna hang out and wander around. It's a new place to all of us except one, who actually has family there. But, you probably don't care about that. The only reason I mentioned it is because I _will_ be getting this last chapter out over the break, but when I get back. But I've got a few one-shots in the making (it's something I do in class when I get too bored and inspiration strikes) so keep a lookout for those if you like. And, if any of you are on livejournal, feel free to check me out there :D I'm still pretty new to it, but I'm going to post up my shorter stories (mostly fills to stuff I come across on the meme's) on there that won't make it on FFnet. Ana yeah, that's it. Enough of me talking (I won't be surprised if you all left by now)._

_Thanks so much for all the reviews. Sorry if this chapter is a little rushed. I wanted to get it out before I lost motivation. Please tell me what you think/expect to see in the final chapter. I'd love to hear(read) it._


	30. Chapter 30

_So, school projects, finals, graduation, and life got the best of me. Then, this chapter started to kick my ass. Every time I'd try to write it, I'd get a few paragraphs in before I found myself unable to find the right things to type. I've restarted this particular chapter about ten times before I said screw it and told myself not to change anything no matter what. So, slowly but surely, I got work done. I'm not particularly proud of this one, but I hope it suffices._

_-.-.-.-_

Two weeks. That's how long it's been since Kurt had asked him for some space. The past two weeks had been the loneliest two weeks of Blaine's life. He hadn't realized how much he loved spending time with the younger boy until he was forced to stay away. He also found himself using his phone a lot less now that Kurt wasn't talking to him.

In the last two weeks, the only times Blaine saw Kurt were during Warblers' practices, in the dining hall during meal times, and in their shared French class. Each time, Kurt would sit with Tyler and some other friends, as far away from Blaine as possible. In French, Kurt still sat next to Blaine, but only spoke when he absolutely had to; and even then, what he said was always pointed at Wes and David instead of at Blaine directly.

The longer it took Kurt to talk to him, the more anxious Blaine felt. He knew that he deserved this silent treatment from the boy, but not knowing what was going through Kurt's mind was driving him crazy. With each passing day, he feared that what he had done was too much and Kurt no longer wanted to be with him. The thought put a heavy feeling in his chest and he hated it.

"Why don't you just go talk to him?" Wes asked him one night. "Two weeks is a pretty long time, don't you think?"

"I can't do that," Blaine sighed and plopped down onto his bed. "I was the one who screwed up and he was the one who asked for the space. I don't want to try to talk to him when he obviously doesn't want to talk to me. The last thing I need is for him to get madder at me for being pushy."

"But Kurt's upset with all of this, too. What if he's just waiting for you to approach him to make it right?"

"How do you know?"

"You can see it in the way he acts. He may act okay, but it's obvious to anyone who has spent a good deal of time with him that something is upsetting him."

"What if he's upset about what we did to him? I just...don't want to risk anything. I'll just wait until he's ready to talk to me."

"If you say so," Wes sighed.

-.-.-.-

Blaine walked into the Warblers' practice room and his eyes immediately sought out Kurt. It had become a habit of his since he stopped talking to the boy. He may not be able to talk to and hang out with Kurt, but he could still keep an eye on him whenever they were in the same area. But, he was surprised to see that Kurt wasn't in the room. He took a seat in one of the armchairs and watched as the boys began to fill the room.

When Tyler showed up without Kurt, Blaine started to feel a little concerned. Tyler and Kurt almost always came to practice together. He shook his head and tried not to worry. Kurt was probably just running late. Blaine looked around the room; all the boys that Kurt usually hung out with now were already in the room. In fact, the only person missing was Kurt. He frowned. It wasn't like Kurt to be late; he's always so prompt.

"It's four o'clock," David announced. "It's time to begin the meeting."

"But, Kurt isn't here," Jeff pointed out, voicing what Blaine had in his mind.

"Does anyone know where Kurt is?" Wes asked. "He was in class today so I know he isn't sick or anything."

"He isn't coming today," Blaine turned his head so fast that he was surprised he didn't get whiplash. He stared at Tyler, who had been the one who answered Wes's question. Tyler looked back at everyone and elaborated. "His dad came right after classes ended to pick him up. They needed him for some special meeting at McKinley.

"Alright, then," Wes straightened in his seat and raised his gavel. "I call this meeting to order."

A discussion began about the schedule of the Warblers for the next month, but Blaine wasn't listening. His mind was elsewhere. McKinley? That was Kurt's old school. Why would he have to go back there for a meeting? Blaine thought hard about what could have happened that needed Kurt, but nothing came to mind.

After the meeting, Blaine decided to go to the library to get some work done. After about an hour in the library, he left with a few books he needed for his research, but no work done. He had _tried_ to work, but he ended up thinking about Kurt and trying to figure out what happened that brought him back to his old school.

As he made his way back to the dorm rooms, he noticed a car stopping in the parking lot. The door opened and someone came out. Blaine didn't have to look twice to know that it was Kurt. Blaine considered calling out to him and asking him what happened, but he wasn't sure if he should. But, his curiosity was starting to get the best of him. He sped up his pace a little, so that he and Kurt ended up at the dorm building doors. Kurt stopped and looked at him, and Blaine stared back. He could feel the tension building up in the air around him. Luckily, Kurt spoke up and broke that tension.

"What did you guys go over at Warblers' today?" He asked in a dismissive voice. "I couldn't go."

Blaine had wanted to say 'I know' but he held his tongue. Instead, he said "We just went over our schedule for the month; we're planning on performing at the Retirement center in two weeks."

"Oh, I see." Kurt took a step towards the door

"Where were you anyway?" Blaine found himself asking before he could even stop himself. Kurt paused and looked at him with an unreadable expression on his face. Blaine thought that he wasn't going to answer because he took forever to say anything. But, he did.

"At McKinley." Kurt responded. "They wanted to have a meeting and I was needed there."

"Why? You don't go to that school anymore."

"Dave Karofsky apparently saw the error of his ways and wanted to apologize for what he did to me." Kurt shrugged.

Blaine found himself unable to speak. Kurt went back to his old school to speak to the very person who drove him out? He wasn't sure how he felt about that. The thought of Karofsky still angered him because of everything he did to Kurt. "Oh. They called you back to Lima for that?"

"Well, that wasn't all," Kurt spoke up after a while. "Since he apologized and everything is supposed to be okay now because he won't be bothering me anymore, they want me to go back to McKinley."

Blaine felt his heart stop. Kurt couldn't go back to McKinley; especially not when he still hasn't fixed things with him yet. If he were to go now, Blaine would never be able to get Kurt to forgive him. Things were hard enough right now, when Blaine still saw Kurt on a daily basis; he could only imagine how hard it would be if Kurt were in a different town.

"Are you going back?" Blaine managed to choke out despite the tightened feeling in his chest.

"I don't know yet," Kurt said slowly. "I'm still thinking about it."

"Oh," Blaine watched as Kurt nodded and entered the building after waving goodbye. Blaine stared at the door, long after Kurt had gone inside. He felt rooted to the spot. Kurt could possibly be leaving him. He had to make things right before that happened.

And that was why, when Wes entered their shared dorm room later that night, Blaine greeted him with an "I'm screwed!"

"And what makes you say that?" Wes asked with a raised eyebrow.

"That meeting he went to earlier," Blaine answered. "It was at his old school. They want him to come back."

"What?" Wes exclaimed. "How do you know that?"

"I bumped into Kurt while I was heading back here and he told me."

"But, why? Isn't that guy who bullied him still there?"

"He apparently apologized for all the wrong he's done and now that he's out of the way, Kurt is free to come back."

Wes's eyes furrowed in thought. "But, even if he was sincerely sorry for all he's done ad wants to make things better, I'm pretty sure he wasn't the only one who bullied Kurt. What about all those other kids?"

"I don't know," Blaine sighed in frustration. "He didn't exactly give me all the details. He told me that he was thinking about whether or not he was going to go back then kind of just left. I guess he's still mad at me."

"So what are you going to do?" Wes sat down with Blaine on the bed and put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"I don't know," Blaine put his head in his hands and shook his head. "I wish I knew. What I _do_ know is this: I can't let him leave without fixing things with him first."

"Whatever you need to do, you know David and I are more than happy to help."

"Thanks, Wes."

-.-.-.-

When Kurt had asked Blaine for space, he knew that the older boy would listen. He just never thought that he would listen this..._well._ He hadn't been surprised that Blaine kept his distance; he hadn't approached Kurt, talked to him, texted, called, or even gone near him since he asked for space. What _did_ surprise him, however, was that Blaine kept his distance for so long. A part of Kurt feared that Blaine didn't care about him enough to continue to pursue him and try to make things better.

"Or, he's just really obedient and very patient," Tyler would always respond. "You _did_ ask him for space. He's obviously listening, and very well, might I add."

"I guess you're right."

"So," Tyler asked after a moment of silent. "What are you going to do about this transferring back to McKinley thing?"

"I honestly don't know," Kurt sighed. "I've been thinking about it all week, and I really don't know what to do. Midterms are in two weeks, and if I transfer then, I can make it back to McKinley in time for the beginning of the fourth quarter."

"But...?" Tyler pressed, because he knew that there was more.

"But, I don't know if I should." Kurt frowned. "I _want_ to go back; I really do. I miss my friends and my family; sure, I get to see them whenever I visit on weekends, but it's not the same. And, driving to Lima is pretty costly so I can't do it as often as I like. Also, if I go back, I'll be back with New Directions and could compete with them at Nationals. Going to New York has always been a big dream of mine.

"But, at the same time, I don't want to leave Dalton and the Warblers. I competed with Warblers for Sectionals and Regionals, so competing with New Directions for Nationals would make me feel like I'm betraying them. And, I love it here. It was so different at first, but I've gotten the hang of the place and you guys are all such great friends. I want to go back to my old friends, but I also don't want to leave my new friends.

"And, Dalton tuition is really steep. My dad and Carole gave up their honeymoon money to send me here and there is no way I want them to feel like it went to waste by transferring back after a few months. And, let's face it, McKinley's academic standards is nothing compared to Dalton. Just staying at Dalton would look better on a college application than graduating with honors at McKinley."

"I see you didn't mention Blaine." Tyler commented.

"That's another thing, actually," Kurt chuckled dryly. "I know it sounds lame, but I don't want to leave him. Things aren't going so well with him right now, but that doesn't mean that it will be like this forever. Hell, technically speaking, we haven't even broken up. I just asked him for some space."

"You're not mad at him anymore?" Eyebrows rose in shock.

"Not really?" Kurt shrugged. "I'm not that upset about it anymore, but I still want him to make up for it, you know? I feel like it wouldn't be fair to me if I just let him get away with something like that without doing anything to make up for it."

"I understand." Tyler nodded. "So how's that going to work when you only have two weeks to make a decision, and Blaine is still giving you your space?"

"I wish I knew."

-.-.-.-

On Monday, Kurt woke up to the sound of his room door closing. He saw up and rubbed his eyes with a frown on his face. It wasn't like Trent to leave their room before he did. He glanced at his clock to see what time it was and his eyes widened in shock. He had thirty minutes to shower and get to class. He jumped out of bed and dashed into the bathroom. He had apparently forgotten to set his alarm last night.

Once he finished in the shower and changed—he decided to skip his morning skin care routine and would make up for it later—he only had ten minutes until class. He went into his desk drawer and pulled out one of the granola bars he kept in there and hurried out of his room and to his first class. He had just reached the door when something caught his eye—it was a flash of red on his bedside table that he hadn't realized was there earlier. As he got closer, he saw that it was a singe red rose. He picked it up and brought it close to his nose to smell. There was no card or note or anything that indicated where it came from. He spun the flower between his fingers and tried to figure out who could have given it to him.

"Oh, crap!" Kurt exclaimed when he realized the time. He only had five minutes to get to class. He put the flower back down on his bedside table and dashed out of the room as fast as he could. He could worry about the mysterious flower later.

By lunch time, Kurt was starving. The short distraction by the rose this morning didn't give him enough time to eat his granola bar. He grabbed a plate of pasta and made his way to the first empty table that he saw. He was just about to dig in when a shadow fell over the table. He looked up to see Blaine, Wes, and David giving him small smiles.

"Is it alright if we sit here?" Blaine asked with an unsure smile. Kurt was a bit taken aback by that because he had never seen the older boy as anything other than his confident charming self.

"Of course," Kurt motioned to the seats in front of him with his fork and the three boys sat down. He gave them all small smiles and dug into his lunch. The boys across from him fell into an easy conversation and occasionally turned to Kurt to ask for some input. He would give them a few answers now and then, and even volunteer some information himself on a couple occasions, but for the most part, he stayed quiet.

-.-.-.-

"Was that you sitting with Blaine and his friends?" Tyler asked as soon as he met up with Kurt at the door of the dining hall.

"Yeah, Blaine asked if he could sit with me and I said yes." Kurt shrugged as he continued down the hall with Tyler. Kurt's eyes widened when a thought suddenly came to mind. "There was something interesting in my room this morning."

"Oh?" Tyler glanced out of Kurt from the corner of his eyes.

"There was a red rose on my bedside table."

"Really? Who from?"

"I...don't know," Kurt frowned. If he had been back at McKinley, he would have shrugged this off as a prank devised by some stupid jocks. But, this was Dalton. "There wasn't a note or anything, and Trent was already out of the room when I woke up so I couldn't ask him. But, now that I think about it, I think it was Blaine who did it."

"It seems likely." Tyler shrugged and looked at Kurt out of the corner of his eye. There was a small smirk on his lips; Kurt was too busy thinking that he didn't notice. "Though I always pegged him for the type to leave a card or a note or something. He never struck me as a secret admirer type."

-.-.-.-

"What's wrong with you?" Wes turned on Blaine as soon as Kurt was away from the table.

"What did I do?" Blaine looked up at him in surpirse.

"Nothing, that's what you did!" Wes grumbled angrily to himself. Blaine turned to David for some clarification.

"You spent twenty minutes sitting right across from Kurt," David explained. "When we convinced you to go sit with Kurt, we were kind of hoping you would take that opportunity to talk to him and try to start making things right. He wouldn't ignore you if Wes and I were here."

"You had the perfect opportunity to talk to him." Wes waved his fork in front of Blaine's face. "But you barely spoke. And whenever David and I tried to bring you into the conversation, you barely said a thing. What's wrong with you?"

"I just..." Blaine sighed. "I can't bring myself to talk to him just yet. What if he's still mad at me? Like, what if I annoy him and he decides to transfer because of that?"

"Dude," David gave Blaine an incredulous look. "You can't be serious. You're being too paranoid about all of this."

"I just..don't want to risk losing him," Blaine slumped in his seat.

"You're going to end up losing him anyway if you don't start doing something about it." David pointed out.

"But I don't know _what_ to do." Blaine said helplessly before he went back to poking at his food.

"You'll figure something out," Wes said quietly. He glanced over to David and the two shared a look over their friend's head.

-.-.-.-

When Kurt returned to his room later that day, he saw that the flower was still on his bedside table. But, there was something new there. A small box of chocolates was placed underneath the flower. Kurt walked closer and took the box out from under the rose. He examined the box. He looked to the bathroom door, which had just opened to reveal his roommate, fresh out of the shower.

"Hey, Trent," the boy looked to Kurt while he started to dry his hair with one of his towels. "Do you know who put these chocolates here?"

"Nope," Trent answered. "Though, I don't think those were there before I went into the shower; the flower was though. By the way, who's it from?"

"I don't know," Kurt frowned. "I was going to ask you. I woke up and it was on my bedside table."

"Man, I'm sorry, Kurt." Trent gave him a sheepish smile. "I didn't see it before I left this morning. I might have missed it, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't there. I checked your clock when I woke up because I was pretty surprised to see you still in bed."

"It's alright." Kurt gave him a reassuring smile. "I think I have an idea of who it could be."

Kurt reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He went to the message menu and put in a number he knew by heart: Blaine's. The flower and chocolates had to be from him. He was one of the few people who knew which chocolates he actually liked eating.

_To Blaine: Thanks for the flower an chocolate._

He got a reply not even a minute later.

_From Blaine:_ _? What flower & chocolate?_

Kurt's eyebrows shot up as he quickly typed his response.

_To Blaine: I got a flower this morning and the chocolates just now. Those weren't from you?_

_ From Blaine: ...no. I didn't send u anything._

_ To Blaine: Oh... _

Blaine didn't respond after that so Kurt put down his phone and looked at the box of chocolates. He turned it over in his hands a few times, trying to find any sign of who could have sent it, but saw nothing.

-.-.-.-

"Wes," The boy in question looked up from his homework to see Blaine with a frown on his face and his brows furrowed in though.

"What's up?"

"Someone sent Kurt flowers and chocolate."

"Oh?" Wes put his pen down and turned his chair to face Blaine, who had stood up and was now pacing their room. "How do you know?"

"He sent me a text. He thought it was from me so he was going to thank me."

"That sounds awkward," Wes said uneasily.

"That's not the point!" Blaine glared at the floor as he continued to pace. "Someone is sending Kurt gifts. What could that mean?"

"What do you think?" Wes asked wryly. "Obviously, someone is hitting on Kurt."

"Why would someone do that?" Blaine exclaimed. "We're still together! We're just spending a little time apart."

Wes rolled his eyes. "Look, no offense Blaine, but the 'time apart' you guys have been spending has been going on for a while now. Everyone's been talking about it since you first showed up at dinner at didn't sit next to each other. Since then, there had been so many rumors about why you guys broke up. And, judging from this little event, someone figures it's okay to come in and try and woo Kurt."

"They can't do that!"

"They can, and they did." Wes sighed. "Now, if you really want to get back with Kurt like you say you do, then you better act fast before you lose him to whoever is sending him gifts."

"I will." Blaine said with determination in his voice. Wes returned to his homework and

smirked.

-.-.-.-

The next time Kurt got a gift was during a Warblers' meeting. It was a small blue bear with a light gray bow tie; attached to the bow tie had been a small tag with the name 'Kurt' written on it. It was seated on the middle of the council table in plain sight.

"Where did that come from?" Jeff asked curiously as Kurt held the bear in his hands.

"I don't know," David, who had been the first person in the room, answered. "It was already in the room when I came in."

"Did you ever figure out who gave you those chocolates and that flower?" Tyler asked rather loudly, attracting the attention of the boys around in the room.

"Do you have a secret admirer or something?" Nick asked with a teasing tone.

Blaine, who had entered at that moment, looked at Nick in surprise. He looked around the room to see what was going on and immediately saw the small stuffed animal in Kurt's hands. His eyes narrowed and a scowl formed on his face. Whoever was sending these gifts to Kurt was starting to get on his nerves.

All throughout the meeting, Blaine threw glances at Kurt's direction. The younger boy held the bear in his hands and would occasionally look down at the animal. There was confusion in his eyes whenever he looked down at the small toy, but there was just the smallest twitch of his lips that told Blaine that Kurt was trying not to smile; he may not know who the toy was from, but he appreciated. And that just made Blaine even angrier. It was that anger (he refused to call it jealousy) that caused him to stop Kurt before the younger boy could leave the meeting room.

"Hey," Blaine gave him the most charming smile he could muster. "I was wondering, are you going home this weekend?"

"No," Kurt shook his head. "I have a bunch of final projects to finish so I'm staying here to get them done."

"Oh," Blaine tried to keep the disappointment out of his voice. "So, I'm guessing you're busy on Friday night, then?"

Kurt thought about it. Blaine bit the inside of his cheek nervously as he waited for an answer. "Well, I suppose I could spare a few hours. Why?"

"Do you want to go out?" Blaine asked hopefully. "We can go to dinner—my treat. And, maybe we could catch a movie or something? There are a few good ones that just came out."

"Sure," Kurt said with a small smile in Blaine's direction. And, with one final wave, he stepped around Blaine and left the room.

When Wes and David approached Blaine just a couple of minutes later, he had a large grin on his face and looked happier than they've seen him weeks.

-.-.-.-

_Okay, so, this was supposed to be the last chapter, but it's just been so hard to finish it for some reason and I've taken so long to update. So, I decided to post this little tidbit out. So, there's actually one more chapter left after that. Sorry for the delay, guys. _


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